Zurich: Qatari and Asian soccer official Saoud Al Mohannadi (pictured) has won an appeal against a one-year ban that prevented him from standing for a place on the FIFA Council, soccer's governing body said.
Al Mohannadi, a vice-president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Qatar Football Association (QFA), was banned by FIFA's ethics watchdog in November on allegations 'for failing to cooperate as a witness' in an investigation. He had previously been disqualified from standing for a place on the FIFA Council while the matter was investigated.
However, FIFA's Appeal Committee said in a statement yesterday that there was insufficient evidence to establish that Al Mohannadi had violated the code of ethics. It also lifted a 20,000 Swiss franc ($19,930.24) fine levied against him.
His disqualification in September led delegates to cancel an extraordinary AFC Congress which had been called to choose Asian places on the FIFA Council.
The agenda was voted down after just 27 minutes of the Congress in Goa.
The election for four places on the Council will now go ahead in May although the AFC has already published the names of the eight candidates.
The AFC could not immediately be reached to comment on whether Al Mohannadi would be allowed to stand.
Al Mohannadi was elected vice-president of the AFC during the elections conducted in April 2015 last year in Bahrain. After his election he said he wanted to put the region back on the path of glory with better co-operation.
