DOHA, Qatar (AP) — FIFA executive Mohamed bin Hammam says he and his lawyers are aiming to provide “convincing grounds” of his innocence ahead of his bribery hearing on Friday.
Bin Hammam says his legal team is “working very hard” to show that he respected FIFA rules when meeting with Caribbean soccer leaders in Trinidad before his failed election challenge to FIFA President Sepp Blatter.
The suspended Qatari official has been summoned before FIFA’s ethics committee in Zurich to answer charges that he arranged $40,000 bribes in exchange for votes.
FIFA’s ethics panel has said, in a leaked report, that it has “compelling” evidence of a bribery conspiracy.
Bin Hammam says he expects a fair hearing “despite these clear attempts to besmirch my name.”
