Reaction to Mohamed bin Hammam’s ban from football has been mixed in Asia and the Gulf region.
Reaction to Mohamed bin Hammam’s ban from football has been mixed in Asia and the Gulf region.

A mixed reaction to Mohamed bin Hammam Fifa banning



Mohamed bin Hammam vowed to overturn his bribery conviction and lifetime ban from football, calling the decision an act of "revenge" by Fifa and its president, Sepp Blatter.

Bin Hammam yesterday told the BBC that "the ban for life, that shows how much these people are angry, how much they are full of revenge".

Fifa imposed the ban on Saturday after finding the suspended Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president guilty of bribery allegations in his campaign to unseat Blatter as head of the sport's world governing body, just months after he helped secure 2022 World Cup hosting rights for Qatar.

Bin Hammam denies the allegations, and plans to clear his name by launching several appeals, including at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

His ban was welcomed in some parts of Asia but greeted with silence among football leaders in the Gulf.

In Malaysia, the former AFC general secretary Peter Velappan cheered the punishment against the Qatari, 62, describing bin Hammam as "the architect of bribery and corruption" in the region.

"Justice is done and it's good for Fifa and good for football," Velappan said.

The bribery scandal led to Bin Hammam abandoning his campaign for the presidency and led to the veteran executive committee member becoming the most senior official convicted of corruption in the governing body's 107-year history.

The Football Association in the UAE refused to comment, as did Bahrain's association, whose president, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, could run for the AFC presidency following bin Hammam's ban.

In Doha, fans at the Qatar World Cup qualifier against Vietnam on Saturday night portrayed bin Hammam as a good man who was being punished for challenging Blatter.

But the Qatar federation itself, where bin Hammam was once president, declined to come to his defense. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani responded to a question with "no comment".

China's Zhang Jilong, who has been interim president of the AFC since bin Hammam was provisionally suspended last month, described Fifa's ban on bin Hammam as a "sad day for the AFC and Asian football".

Velappan said he disagreed.

"It is the best news for Asian football and Fifa. I think most AFC members would be happy. It will be damaging for Asia to have a corrupted leader," he said.

"I have worked with bin Hammam. He totally polarised the Asian football family and marginalised big players such as Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia … So the next challenge for the new leader will be to bring back the unity and harmony of Asia as a family, then get on with the development of the game."

Chuck Blazer, the executive committee member who blew the whistle on the bribery scandal, welcomed the ban for bin Hammam as a warning to anyone in football tempted to use corrupt means.

"It's a very good day for football in that it has been demonstrated that the process we adopted five years ago with the ethics code and committee is able to work," the US representative to Fifa said.

"The fact we have suffered suspensions is sad, but it will send notice to anybody else that might be considering that type of corrupt activity that Fifa is not the place to try it."

Velappan urged Fifa to conduct wide-ranging investigations into Qatar's winning bid for the 2022 World Cup and into allegations of corruption at all levels.

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo 

 Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua

 Based: Dubai, UAE

 Number of employees: 28

 Sector: Financial services

 Investment: $9.5m

 Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. 

 
The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol

Power: 154bhp

Torque: 250Nm

Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option 

Price: From Dh79,600

On sale: Now

Ain Dubai in numbers

126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure

1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch

16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.

9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.

5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place

192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.

Match info

Uefa Nations League Group B:

England v Spain, Saturday, 11.45pm (UAE)

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THE BIO

Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain

Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude

Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE

Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally

Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science

Teams

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shanwari, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.

Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Rating: 2/5
 
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From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

Schedule:

Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)

Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)

Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)

Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)

Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four

Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai) 

Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)

Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)

Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 28: Final (Dubai)

Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale

Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni

Director: Amith Krishnan

Rating: 3.5/5

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The Pope's itinerary

Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport


Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial


Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport

Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Rating: 4/5
THE BIO

Favourite author - Paulo Coelho 

Favourite holiday destination - Cuba 

New York Times or Jordan Times? NYT is a school and JT was my practice field

Role model - My Grandfather 

Dream interviewee - Che Guevara

Disclaimer

Director: Alfonso Cuaron 

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville 

Rating: 4/5


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