Works and Infrastructure Minister Jack Warner may have escaped FIFA ethics committee sanction, but still remains under political scrutiny after Qatari Mohamed Bin Hammam was found guilty of bribery to buy votes within the Caribbean Football Union (CFU).

The FIFA ethics committee completed a two-day hearing and at the end determined that there was enough evidence to institute a life-time ban on Bin Hammam. CFU's Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester were also banned from any football-related activities for one year.

People's National Movement (PNM) political leader Dr Keith Rowley said Cabinet should not be a "place of refuge".

In a brief telephone interview yesterday, Rowley said Warner's future lay "entirely with the Prime Minister".

"The Prime Minister bought him some time saying she wanted to wait for the final report before making her decision," he recalled.

"The PNM position was clear and remains clear; the Prime Minister must say what kind of behaviour she subscribed to with those under her stewardship," Rowley said.

Housing and Environment Minister, Dr Roodal Moonilal said even with this latest development and Bin Hammam's guilty verdict made public after the two-day ethics committee meeting ended yesterday, the People's Partnership would wait for the official FIFA statement before making a decision on Warner.

Though Warner was continuing business as usual at his Chaguanas West constituency office yesterday, he declined to comment on the FIFA issue.

When the Sunday Express visited the office yesterday, people were lined past the doors and out into the street. Warner had been at the office since the wee hours of the morning and was continuing to meet with constituents.

One of Warner's administrative assistants said he was unable to meet, but said "he was not going to talk on the issue just yet".

While the jury is still out on Warner's political future, the people lined up outside on the street were not concerned about what Bin Hammam's guilty verdict meant for Warner's political standing.

"So what? Mr Warner not a part of that anymore. He resigned. Let the man do his work, he is one of the only ones doing anything," one man said.

Several of the people gathered outside Warner's constituency office even called on the Prime Minister to "use her better judgment and leave Mr Warner alone".

But while Warner maintained his silence on the FIFA matter, his local legal representative Om Lalla said regardless of the ethics committee decision, Warner would have to wait for the Prime Minister to make a decision.

Congress of the People political leader Prakash Ramadhar, who publicly called for Warner to demit office during the height of the FIFA bribery scandal was unavailable for comment.

from the FIFA website:

The decisions, which were taken during a two-day meeting of the Ethics Committee held in Zurich on 22 and 23 July 2011, are the following:

• Mohamed bin Hammam (FIFA Executive Committee member) was banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) at national and international level for a period of life.

• Debbie Minguell (Caribbean Football Union official) was banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) at national and international level for a period of one year.

• Jason Sylvester (Caribbean Football Union official) was banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) at national and international level for a period of one year.

• Whistle-blower Chuck Blazer a FIFA Executive Committee member received a warning for comments he made on 30 May at the CONCACAF Caucus held in Zurich. These comments suggested some CFU members were "under investigation", when this was not true.