Bin Hammam, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, is among those asked to attend a December 19 Council of Europe meeting that is looking into FIFA's governance of the game.

Long sidelined both by FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in the wake of corruption allegations, Bin Hammam could be joined by former FIFA deputy secretary general Jérôme Champagne and Transparency International's Sylvia Schenk at the meeting in Paris, according to the Council's website.

Former English Football Association (FA) chairman Lord Triesman may also attend the session held by the Council's Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media.

The Strasbourg-based Council of Europe is an organisation of 47 member states promoting human rights and democracy.

On Thursday (December 6), FIFA's Ethics Committee completed its latest investigation into former Presidential candidate Bin Hammam and extended his provisional ban pending a final verdict.

The 63-year-old was first banned by FIFA in July 2011 for allegedly bribing Caribbean officials during his failed campaign to oust Sepp Blatter in the race to led world soccer's governing body.


In July, the life ban was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but Bin Hammam has remained out of the loop after back-to-back suspensions handed out first by the AFC for allegedly mismanaging confederation funds, then by FIFA.

Bin Hammam was elected unopposed for a third and final four-year term as the head of the AFC in January 2011 but now stands to be replaced at elections next year.

The AFC said last week that it hoped to elect a new President by April, subject to the approval of their legal department.

Champagne left FIFA more than two years ago but earlier this year issued a detailed report to all member associations suggesting how FIFA's credibility could be improved.

Triesman headed the England team that bid to host the 2018 World Cup but quit both that role and the FA chairmanship after becoming the victim of a newspaper sting.

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