17 October 2014 11:28 am
By Champika Fernando
The sport’s highest court, Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) will hear the appeal of former Sri Lankan football administrator Manilal Fernando against his life ban for alleged corruption on November 20.
CAS has listed Case bearing No. CAS 2014/A/3537-Vernon Manilal Fernando vs. FIFA for the 20th November, months after Fernando sought CAS mediation to clear his name.
Fernando, once a close associate of Mohamed bin Hammam was expelled from the football’s global body where he served as an Executive Committee member, last October for acting in breach of ethical considerations including acts amounting to conflict of interest, bribery, and accepting gifts. Initially, FIFA ethics judge Joachim Eckert suspended Fernando for eight years in April 2013 before prosecutor Michael Garcia challenged the sanction. Fernando’s appeal to the Ethics Committee was rejected and instead a life ban was issued.
Fernando was a FIFA employee when elected by Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member countries in 2011 as one of its four delegates to the Zurich-based ruling board.
He served as FIFA's regional development officer in South Asia when project funds were directed by a Bin Hammam-chaired committee. Fernando was also the Chairman of the now defunct Management Committee of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka, the body which control all aspects of sport’s governance in Sri Lanka.