Kalusha Bwalya Says he is Not Guilty, Vows To Appeal

By Admin Former Football Association of Zambia President Kalusha Bwalya has revealed he will appeal the two-year ban handed him by FIFA’s adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee. Bwalya was banned for allegedly receiving benefits from banned Qatari official Mohammed Bin Hammam after investigations made by the committee according to a statement on FIFA’s official website. Bwalya, reportedly received $80,000 cash “gift” from disgraced Qatari business mogul Mohammad Bin Hammam last year but he claimed it was a debt he got on behalf of the association and not to influence the 2018 or 2022 World Cup bid voting. He was also fined 100,000 Swiss francs ($100,600, £78,900). In a statement released on his official Twitter handle Bwalya said that he is not guilty of any offence and vowed to fight to clear his name. “I am surprised and saddened by today’s (Friday) receipt of the notification from the FIFA Ethics Committee adjudication. I have instructed my legal team to immediately appeal this decision urgently and would like to state that I am NOT guilty of any offence which allegedly took place,” the statement reads. “I’ve never done and will never do anything to bring the beautiful game into disrepute, and stand by the facts provided by me to the Committee. I unfortunately cannot provide any further details, as I’ve been advised by my legal team that to do so may jeopardize my chances of obtaining leave to appeal. FIFAs decision is not final and I will fight to clear my name. I thank all my fans for their ongoing support.” FIFA’s Ethics Committee said Bwalya, a Confederation of African Football executive committee member, was banned for two years from “all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level”. FIFA said in a statement it had been investigating the 54-year-old since February 2017 “focused principally on benefits that Mr Bwalya had received from Mr Bin Hammam”. Credit: punchng