Suspended Asian soccer chief Mohamed Bin Hammam questioned whether he would be fairly treated as a two-day hearing began Friday into allegations he tried to buy votes ahead of last month's FIFA presidential election. Describing the case against him as “flimsy” the Qatari, who pulled out of the presidential race over the allegations and was then provisionally banned, said he would take the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) or civil courts if necessary. “I am not confident the hearing will be conducted in the manner any of us would like,” Bin Hammam wrote on his personal website as the hearing began behind closed doors at FIFA's headquarters in a plush Zurich suburb. “It seems likely FIFA already made its decision weeks ago. So none of us should be completely surprised if a guilty verdict is returned.” FIFA's ethics committee are investigating whether Bin Hammam, 62, bribed Caribbean Football Union (CFU) officials to vote for him at the presidential election where Sepp Blatter was re-elected unopposed for a fourth term following the Qatari's withdrawal. Several members of the CFU said they were offered inducements at a meeting in Port of Spain, Trinidad on May 10-11 when CFU officials Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester are alleged to have handed over envelopes containing the money. Former CONCACAF president Jack Warner, like Bin Hammam a FIFA executive committee member, was also suspended but the case against him was dropped when he resigned last month.
