A magistrate in Paris has issued an international arrest warrant for former Asian Football Confederation President Mohamed bin Hammam ©Getty Images

A magistrate in Paris has issued an international arrest warrant for former Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Mohamed bin Hammam on suspicion of corruption in connection with Qatar’s successful bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The arrest warrant was issued on June 22 after the 74-year-old Qatari failed to respond to several summonses to appear before the financial investigating magistrate, French newspaper L’Equipe reported.

Bin Hammam is "accused of private corruption in connection with the awarding of the football World Cup to Qatar", a source told L’Equipe.

He received a second lifetime ban from all football-related activities in 2012 after he was accused of buying votes in the governing body’s presidential race against disgraced former President Sepp Blatter.

Bin Hammam headed the AFC from 2002 to 2011 and was a member of FIFA’s Executive Committee during that period.

Mohamed bin Hammam, left, was banned from football for life in 2012 after allegations he had tried to buy votes during a campaign to replace Sepp Blatter, right, as FIFA President ©Getty Images
Mohamed bin Hammam, left, was banned from football for life in 2012 after allegations he had tried to buy votes during a campaign to replace Sepp Blatter, right, as FIFA President ©Getty Images

The charges in France stem from an investigation launched in 2019 and focuses on the part played by bin Hammam in the actions of Reynald Temarii, the former President of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), on the eve of the vote that awarded Qatar the World Cup.

Temarii had been suspended in November 2010 for breaching FIFA’s code of ethics, meaning he was no longer allowed to vote at the Executive Committee meeting in Zurich the following month where the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were due to be awarded.

The OFC was due to appoint a replacement who would have given their vote to Australia in the election for 2022 and, if that failed, to the United States, Qatar's main rivals.

After initially accepting his suspension, Temarii appealed against it on the night of November 30 - two days before the FIFA Executive Committee meeting - and consequently deprived the OFC of a vote.

Qatar won the final round of voting 14-8 ahead of the US.

It was claimed last year that Mohamed bin Hammam is being stopped from talking about the 2022 FIFA World Cup by the ruling royal family in Qatar ©Getty Images
It was claimed last year that Mohamed bin Hammam is being stopped from talking about the 2022 FIFA World Cup by the ruling royal family in Qatar ©Getty Images

French prosecutors have been investigating allegations that bin Hammam paid Temarii's defence costs of €305,440 (£264,500/$322,670) and financed the Tahitian's trip to Kuala Lumpur to meet him between his sanction and the FIFA vote.

During this visit, the Qatari is alleged to have convinced Temarii to appeal against his sanction.

In 2014, it was claimed that bin Hammam gave a series of bribes to other FIFA officials in exchange for their votes in favour of Qatar’s World Cup bid.

Last year, it was reported that since his lifetime ban, bin Hammam "has been silenced by both Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his father and predecessor Hamad."

Financial magistrates in Paris are also looking into allegations Michel Platini, who was UEFA President at the time, sold his vote to Qatar 2022.