Patrick John drops appeal against FIFA ban

LAUSANNE, Switzerland,  CMC- Former president of the Dominica Football Association (DFA) Patrick John has dropped his appeal against a two-year FIFA ban in the bribery case involving Mohamed Bin Hammam.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) says it cancelled a hearing scheduled Monday after John, the former Prime Minister of Dominica, withdrew his appeal.

FIFA had initially charged John for accepting US$40,000 in cash from Bin Hammam to support him in an election campaign against President Sepp Blatter.

However after a hearing, that charge was removed and John was instead found guilty of infringing FIFA statutes.

John’s two year ban, imposed in November 2011, also carried a 3, 300 dollar fine and was part of a final round of sanctions for Caribbean officials caught in the conspiracy.

Bin Hammam was on a campaign visit to Trinidad in May 2011 when the bribery allegedly took place.