Bin Hammam handed life ban after resigning from FIFA roles
December 17, 2012 -- Updated 1848 GMT (0248 HKT)
Asian Confederation chief Mohamed Bin Hammam has been banned from soccer for life by FIFA.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Mohamed Bin Hammam resigns from his roles with FIFA, soccer's governing body
- FIFA statement says Bin Hammam will never be active in organized football again
- The Qatari has been in dispute with FIFA since being found guilty of bribery in July 2011
- Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld bin Hammam's appeal against punishment
(CNN) -- Mohamed Bin Hammam has resigned from his roles within FIFA and will never be active in organized football again, soccer's world governing body has announced.
The Qatari was president of the Asian Football Confederation between August 2002 and August 2011 and had a place on the FIFA Executive Committee.
Bin Hammam was accused of issuing bribes to members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), including former North American soccer head Jack Warner, in exchanges for votes during his ill-fated FIFA presidential campaign against current chief Sepp Blatter.
He denied the charges and vowed to clear his name. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) subsequently annulled his lifetime ban from FIFA based on a lack of evidence, though the body stressed the 63-year-old had not been found innocent.
Read: Bin Hammam's FIFA ban overturned
Kickbacks and cover-ups at FIFA?
FIFA in crisis over bribery scandal
FIFA VP supports 2022 winter switch
But FIFA said Bin Hammam has resigned with immediate effect from all his roles in a letter dated December 15 and that his life ban was based on a report by Michael Garcia, chair of their Ethics Committee.
A statement on FIFA's website read: "Mohamed Bin Hammam, FIFA Executive Committee member and AFC President, has resigned from all his positions in football with immediate effect and will never be active in organised football again.
"In view of the fact that under the new FIFA Code of Ethics, the FIFA Ethics Committee remains competent to render a decision even if a person resigns, the Adjudicatory Chamber decided to ban Mohamed Bin Hammam from all football-related activity for life.
"This life ban is based on the final report of Michael J. Garcia, Chairman of the Investigatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee.
"That report showed repeated violations of Article 19 (Conflict of Interest) of the FIFA Code of Ethics, edition 2012, of Mohamed Bin Hammam during his terms as AFC President and as member of the FIFA Executive Committee in the years 2008 to 2011, which justified a life-long ban from all football related activity."
Bin Hammam emerged as the only challenger to Blatter in FIFA's presidential elections back in June 2011 but withdrew 24 hours before the ballot after being provisionally suspended by the organization.
Blatter, who was cleared by the same inquiry, stood unopposed to win his third straight term as head of the governing body.
The accusations centered around a meeting of Caribbean officials in Trinidad where it is alleged the Qatari offered cash for votes. He has consistently denied the claims.
But his resignation signals the end of his involvement in the running of football.
Part of complete coverage on
Be part of CNN's coverage of European Champions League matches and join the social debate.
May 23, 2013 -- Updated 1052 GMT (1852 HKT)
When Germany's two biggest soccer clubs go head-to-head in the Champions League final, there can only be one winner: German industry.
May 22, 2013 -- Updated 1356 GMT (2156 HKT)
The Bundesliga model of sustainability is very much in vogue. But are Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund creating a dangerous duopoly?
May 23, 2013 -- Updated 1106 GMT (1906 HKT)
Bayern Munich super fan Boris Becker takes a tour of London ahead of the 2013 Champions League final.
May 23, 2013 -- Updated 1015 GMT (1815 HKT)
CNN takes an exclusive look at the venue of the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
CNN's Pedro Pinto gives his analysis of the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
May 17, 2013 -- Updated 1710 GMT (0110 HKT)
David Beckham embraced his tag as a "gay icon" and has been credited with breaking the big taboo -- homosexuality in football.
May 13, 2013 -- Updated 0750 GMT (1550 HKT)
'King' Alex Ferguson is quitting Manchester United but the $3.17 billion brand will survive, according to experts.
May 7, 2013 -- Updated 1418 GMT (2218 HKT)
Italian football lags behind its other European rivals commercially, but newly-crowned Italian champions Juventus is showing Serie A clubs an example of revival.
April 24, 2013 -- Updated 1434 GMT (2234 HKT)
Luis Suarez's biting of Branislav Ivanovic is the latest episode of moments of madness when soccer stars behave badly.
March 29, 2013 -- Updated 0938 GMT (1738 HKT)
Sunderland's partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation is part of its bid to woo the African market.
March 28, 2013 -- Updated 1558 GMT (2358 HKT)
Each year as many as 700 Cameroonian young footballers leave Africa in search of a professional career abroad.
May 6, 2013 -- Updated 1201 GMT (2001 HKT)
Referees across Europe are feeling the heat. Insulted, threatened, chased off the field, attacked, hospitalized and, tragically, killed.
February 26, 2013 -- Updated 1225 GMT (2025 HKT)
Footballers have a battery of physios, fitness trainers and doctors all striving to fine-tune their physique -- but are they missing a trick?
February 26, 2013 -- Updated 1424 GMT (2224 HKT)
No Englishman has won the EPL title in over 20 years, while a leading manager reveals that English coaches are now "not respected abroad."
May 13, 2013 -- Updated 0933 GMT (1733 HKT)
Hardcore Italian football "ultra" Federico is a Lazio supporter who happily admits directing monkey chants at black players.
March 5, 2013 -- Updated 1123 GMT (1923 HKT)
When Jupp Heynckes made his Bundesliga debut as a player in 1965, the name of Bayern Munich was a new one for the nascent German league.
February 19, 2013 -- Updated 1902 GMT (0302 HKT)
Football's world governing body FIFA has confirmed it will use goal-line technology at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
February 19, 2013 -- Updated 1403 GMT (2203 HKT)
Match-fixing has become a worldwide issue, with hundreds of matches under investigation -- but how do you actually fix a football game?
February 18, 2013 -- Updated 1700 GMT (0100 HKT)
U.S soccer star Robbie Rogers has "come out" as gay on the day he retired from the game, making the announcement on his blog.
February 11, 2013 -- Updated 2231 GMT (0631 HKT)
The wealth of owners like Chelsea's Roman Abramovich often fuels success, but for other clubs such backers prove a mixed blessing.
January 30, 2013 -- Updated 1342 GMT (2142 HKT)
The Secret Footballer reveals the complex issues surrounding racism in the English Premier League.
Today's five most popular stories