FIFA bans Qatar’s Mohamed bin Hammam for life

Mohamed bin Hammam’s downfall from soccer powerbroker to disgraced outcast was completed Saturday when FIFA banned the Qatari official for life for his role in a bribery scandal.

Bin Hammam was found guilty of bribing presidential election voters just months after he helped secure the 2022 World Cup for his tiny Gulf homeland.

The scandal forced him to abandon his campaign to unseat FIFA President Sepp Blatter, and it ultimately led to him becoming the most senior official convicted of corruption in the governing body’s 107-year history.

A FIFA ethics panel ruled after a two-day hearing in Zurich, Switzerland, that the executive committee member conspired to pay Caribbean officials $40,000 cash bribes in May for their support in the election.

Panel Chairman Petrus Damaseb said the verdict was in keeping with the approach of “zero tolerance of unethical behavior.” Damaseb also urged FIFA to consider opening cases against three more executive committee members who joined bin Hammam on a campaign visit to Trinidad.

Bin Hammam’s lawyer said he maintained his innocence and rejected the findings based on “so-called circumstantial evidence.”

“He will continue to fight his case through the legal routes that are open to him,” lead counsel Eugene Gulland told reporters.

Bin Hammam can challenge his life ban at the FIFA appeals body and then the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“We are confident of the strength of our case and invite FIFA to make available now to the media a full transcript of these proceedings,” Gulland said in a statement.

Bin Hammam has claimed the case was politically motivated to stop him from challenging Blatter, who was reelected unopposed last month three days after the Asian Football Confederation president withdrew his candidacy.

Paolo Guerrero scored three goals and set up another, leading Peru past Venezuela, 4-1, at La Plata, Argentina, for third place in the Copa America. Guerrero set up William Chiroque’s goal in the 42nd minute. He then scored in the 64th and 89th minutes and two minutes into stoppage time.

Uruguay and Paraguay will play in the Copa America final Sunday.

Rafael Da Silva gave Manchester United the lead in the 76th minute, and the English powerhouse went on to beat the host Chicago Fire, 3-1, in an exhibition game. Wayne Rooney’s chip-in goal tied the score in the 66th minute, and Nani scored for United in the 82nd minute. … Jose Maria Callejon and Mesut Ozil scored early in the first half and Real Madrid held on for a 2-1 victory over the host Philadelphia Union in an exhibition game.

ETC.

Former UCLA center Kraushaar dies at 84

Carl Kraushaar, the starting center on John Wooden’s first two UCLA teams, died Thursday at 84. The school said in a statement Saturday that Kraushaar died of natural causes surrounded by his family in Newport Beach.

As a junior transfer, Kraushaar was the leading scorer on a team that won a school-record 22 games in Wooden’s first season, 1948-49. The following season, he was named All-Pacific Coast Conference as he led the Bruins to 24 wins, their first conference title and their first NCAA tournament.

Kraushaar was selected by the Rochester Royals in the 1950 NBA draft but instead became a high school teacher, coach and administrator.

Carl Edwards dominated the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Nashville Superspeedway in Gladeville, Tenn., and his Roush Fenway Racing teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished second. Mike Dillon was third. Edwards overcame a penalty for speeding on pit road and worked his way back through the field and passed Dillon on lap 120 for the lead.

Mark Webber will start from the pole position at the German Grand Prix on Sunday in Nuerburgring after narrowly beating McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel in qualifying. The Australian posted a time of 1 minute 30.079 seconds around the 3.2-mile Nuerburgring circuit, with Hamilton 0.065 of a second behind. Vettel was an additional 0.082 of a second off the pace.

Takuma Sato will start on the pole in the Edmonton Indy on Sunday in Canada after he turned a lap of 1 minute 18.5165 seconds on the 2.2-mile, 13-turn City Centre Airport track. He was .05 of a second ahead of Team Penske driver Will Power.

John Isner overwhelmed Gilles Muller in the third set to win, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-1, at Norcross, Ga., and reach the Atlanta Tennis Championships final for the second year in a row. Isner, who is seeded No. 3, will face top-seeded Mardy Fish in the final Sunday. Fish beat Ryan Harrison, 6-2, 6-4.

Gilles Simon of France rallied to beat Mikhail Youznhy of Russia, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, at Hamburg, Germany, and advanced to the German Open final. He will face Nicolas Almagro, who beat fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, 6-4, 6-1.

Vera Zvonareva defeated Ukraine’s Mariya Koryttseva, 6-1, 6-2, setting up an all-Russian final at the Baku Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan. Top-seeded Zvonareva will take on Ksenia Pervak after the Russian defeated Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan, 1-6, 6-0, 6-2.

Acclamation, a 5-year-old from the barn of Donald Warren, won the $300,000 Eddie Read Stakes, a Grade I race on the turf at Del Mar. Acclamation, ridden by Joel Rosario, and Jeranimo ran 1-2 for the entire 11/8 miles, with Acclamation pulling away in the stretch and winning by 31/4 lengths in 1 minute 46.99 seconds. The favorite, Caracortado, rallied from fourth but ended up third by a nose.