Qatar Football Association backs official after FIFA seeks ban

Qatar's Football Association (QFA) has expressed full support for its vice president Saoud al-Mohannadi after a FIFA investigator recommended he should be banned from the game for at least two and a half years for allegedly failing to cooperate during an inquiry.

The Qatari official has not yet seen the FIFA report and is thus unable to comment on it, the Qatari football body said in a statement.

"However, he as well as the QFA are both confident that a full and fair review of the matter will confirm that he has cooperated extensively and candidly with the ethics committee and that any charges against him are without legitimate basis."

QFA also said it fully supported the candidacy of Mohannadi for the next FIFA Council election.

The statement by the FIFA investigator Djimbaraye Bourngar did not detail what the inquiry concerned but said it was not linked to the awarding of the 2022 soccer World Cup to Qatar - one of the targets of a series of wider investigations into corruption within FIFA that have rocked global soccer's governing body since last year.

However, it said the recommendation was over Mohannadi's "failure to properly cooperate and provide truthful information to the investigatory chamber in the framework of another investigation".

Bourngar also recommended a 20,000 Swiss-franc ($20,676) fine against Mohannadi, who is QFA's former secretary general and the Vice Chairman of the Asian Football Confederation.

He [Mohannadi] as well as the QFA are both confident that a full and fair review of the matter will confirm that he has cooperated extensively and candidly with the ethics committee and that any charges against him are without legitimate basis. - QFA

His report will now go to the adjudicatory chamber of the Swiss-based FIFA Ethics Committee.

"Until a formal decision is taken by the adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee, the accused party is presumed innocent," Bourngar said in his statement.

Switzerland has opened a criminal investigation into the decisions to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively.

Qatar has been widely criticised by international media and football associations over allegations of corruption during the World Cup bidding process.

But Doha has fought back against allegations of abuse and exploitation, saying it was beginning a raft of reforms aimed at improving working practices and employee safety.