Mohamed Bin Hammam has issued a denial after the Fifa presidential election race was hit by bribery allegations.
Disciplinary proceedings were opened against presidential candidtae Bin Hammam and Fifa vice-president Jack Warner, after Fifa executive committee member Chuck Blazer reported that the pair were involved in attempting to bribe members of the Caribbean Football Union to secure votes for Qatar’s Bin Hammam. He goes up against incumbent Sepp Blatter in a week’s time.
Bin Hammam has strongly denied any wrongdoing at a CFU meeting that was also attended by Warner. He has since issued a statement on his personal website, which read: “This has been a difficult and painful day for me today.
“But, if there is even the slightest justice in the world, these allegations will vanish in the wind. This move is little more than a tactic being used by those who have no confidence in their own ability to emerge successfully from the Fifa Presidential election.
“I remain deeply indebted to Mr. Warner for his sense of Fair Play because without his support and understanding I would not have been able to meet with several important Member Associations of Fifa to discuss my election manifesto.
“Here I completely deny any allegations of wrongdoing either intentionally or unknowingly while I was in the Caribbean.
“I will speak to Mr. Warner on this subject and offer him my full support in ensuring we are discharged honourably by the Fifa Ethics Committee, a body which I hold in the highest esteem.
“I am confident that there is no charge to answer and that I will be free to stand in the Fifa Presidential election on June 1 as originally planned.
“I will have no further comment to make on this matter until after I appear before the Fifa Ethics Committee and I would like to apologise to all members of the media in advance for not being able to discuss this issue with them until the conclusion the hearing.”
Warner, meanwhile, was quoted by the Daily Telegraph as saying:“I take note of the initiative by Fifa’s ethics committee and confirm that I have been invited to attend a hearing this week.
“I am unaware of the particulars of the matter being investigated by Fifa at this time, so I will therefore abstain from any comment until such time as I have been made aware of all that has been submitted to Fifa.
“It is informative to note that the Concocaf, at its Congress in Miami on May 3, was informed of Bin Hamman being unable to get a US Visa to attend and that, as an alternative, he will like to meet the delegates in Trinidad on May 10.
“What I can say at this time is that I am not aware of any wrongdoing on my part and I shall listen to allegations made and respond accordingly.
“It is interesting to note the timing of these allegations and the hearing scheduled days before the Fifa Presidential elections.
“As this is now a formal procedure, I shall not be offering any further comment prior to the hearing on Sunday.”