Chirakal suspended by Ethics Committee of FIFA

Najeeb Chirakal, a football official and as such covered by the FIFA Code of Ethics 2012, has today been banned by the FIFA Ethics Committee from taking part in all football-related activity, at any level, due to his lack of collaboration with the ongoing investigation proceedings opened against Mohamed Bin Hammam (more information can be found by clicking the link on the right hand side). This failure to cooperate constitutes a breach of the FIFA Code of Ethics. The ban is effective immediately and will last for two months or until Chirakal cooperates with these proceedings as requested, whichever is earlier. Chirakal had been contacted by the Secretary to the Investigatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee, asking him to provide information and documents, and failed to respond. The letter notifying Chirakal of the ban also informs him that investigation proceedings may be opened against him for possible violations of the FIFA Code of Ethics if he continues to fail to cooperate with the investigation. This is the first instance of sanctions being imposed on a football official for failure to cooperate with an investigation under the 2012 edition of the FIFA Code of Ethics. As Michael J. Garcia stated in July upon being appointed to the role of Chair of the Investigatory Chamber of the Ethics Committee: “We’ll use all the tools that are available [under the new FIFA Code of Ethics] to determine what happened and whether the rules were broken.” FIFA