Manilal Fernando slapped eight-year ban
Lawyers for
Manilal Fernado issuing a statement yesterday said their client is
naturally disappointed with the decision of the Adjudicatory Chamber of
the FIFA Ethics Committee. The statement said at this point, he has been
given no reasons for the decision, but merely that some provisions of
the Ethics Code has been breached. The statement said Fernando has
consulted with his legal team and is confident that he will clear his
name. “He is prepared to take this matter to the Court of Arbitration
for Sport (CAS), which is an Arbitral Tribunal, which is independent of
FIFA.”
FIFA executive committee member Vernon Manilal Fernando was banned
from football for eight years yesterday, though the governing body did
not specify which ethics rules he broke. Fernando had been a close
associate of Mohamed bin Hammam, who was expelled by FIFA for a second
time last December.
 Reports have alleged misappropriation of football development and
disaster relief funds following the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean.
“[Fernando] was found guilty of several breaches of the FIFA Code of
Ethics,” FIFA said after a two-day hearing by its ethics court, but did
not give any further details on the violations.
The Sri Lankan official’s ban was imposed three days before the Asian
Football Confederation holds its congress in Kuala Lumpur, where it can
discuss replacing him.
Fernando’s expulsion could open the prospect for the newly elected
AFC president on Thursday to claim a seat on the 25-member FIFA board.
FIFA said Fernando is prevented “from taking part in any kind of
football-related activity at national and international level.”
Fernando was a FIFA employee when he was elected by AFC member
countries in 2011 to join its executive committee. At the time, Bin
Hammam was AFC president.
Fernando had served as FIFA’s regional development officer in South
Asia at a time when development funds were directed by a Bin
Hammam-chaired committee. The ban is effective retroactively from March
11 this year, when he was suspended to prevent him from interfering with
FIFA’s investigation.
Bin Hammam was banned for life by FIFA for “conflicts of interest”
relating to his management of AFC contracts and bank accounts.
That came after a bribery scandal during his presidential bid to oust
Sepp Blatter, who was re-elected.
Fernando is the latest FIFA board member to leave the committee this
year, though is by far the least influential. US delegate Chuck Blazer
did not seek re-election after 16 years, and faces an ethics probe of
his time running the CONCACAF confederation.
South American confederation president Nicolas Leoz of Paraguay
resigned last week, citing health reasons.
He was also under investigation for taking kickbacks from FIFA’s
former marketing agency, ISL, in the 1990s.
Courtesy: ESPN
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