Complete support

The Qatar Football Association condemns the recommendation of a FIFA investigator to ban its vice-president Saud Abdulaziz Al Mohannadi over allegations of non-cooperation.

THE Qatar Football Association (QFA) strongly rallied behind its vice-president Saud Abdulaziz Al Mohannadi following the recommendation of a FIFA investigator to ban him at least for two-and-a-half years and fine 20,000 Swiss francs over allegations of non-cooperation with an inquiry.

Football’s world governing body had not made it clear what the probe was about. However, FIFA said it was not linked to the awarding of 2022 World Cup to Qatar.

The QFA, in a statement, said, “Al Mohannadi hasn’t yet seen the Investigatory Chamber’s report, so he’s unable to comment on it. We’re confident that a full and fair review will confirm he has cooperated extensively with the Ethics Committee. Any charges against him are without legitimate basis.”

The statement added that it would back him for the FIFA Council election at the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Extraordinary Congress in Goa, India, on September 27.

Deputy Chairman of the Investigatory Chamber Djimbaraye Bourngar, who concluded the probe, charged Al Mohannadi for an alleged violation of article 13 (General rules of conduct), article 18 (Duty of disclosure, cooperation and reporting) and article 42 (General obligation to collaborate) of Code of Ethics.

QFA Vice-President Al Mohannadi, who holds the same position at AFC, is innocent until a formal decision is taken by the Adjudicatory Chamber of Ethics Committee.

The Qatari official is one of the four Asian candidates for the newly-formed FIFA body, the others being Chinese Football Association Secretary Zhang Jian, former Iran Football Federation president Ali Kafashian and Football Association of Singapore chief Zainudin Nordin.

The FIFA Review Committee had recently cleared the candidature of Al Mohannadi, who complied with the eligibility requirements for the election.