Nepal FA says bin Hammam payment a personal loan

Published Jul. 22, 2012 8:05 a.m. ET

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The head of the Nepal's football federation said Sunday his son had taken a loan of $100,000 from Mohamed bin Hammam but denied the money came from an Asian Football Confederation bank account.

Ganesh Thapa, the president of All Nepal Football Association, told The Associated Press his son had taken a personal loan from suspended AFC chief bin Hammam in 2009 and has already paid it back.

''It was a personal loan for a personal reason from a personal friend and it has nothing to do with football or AFC,'' Thapa said Sunday, arguing it should not be scrutinized by football officials.

Bin Hammam is accused of enriching himself during his tenure as head of the AFC and handing out hundreds of thousands of dollars to friends and supporters.

The son, Gaurav Thapa, has been working with AFC since 2007 and has been sent to Newcastle, England, on Olympic duty working as assistant manager of a football venue.

Bin Hammam, a 63-year-old Qatari whose life ban from football was overturned in a sports court earlier this week, was soon back in focus after an audit obtained by The Associated Press raised fresh allegations of wrongdoing.

He had initially received a life ban based upon accusations of bribery which forced him to withdraw from his bid to replace Sepp Blatter as the head of FIFA, football's global governing body.