Bin Hammam withdraws from Fifa election

The Telegraph – KUALA LUMPUR, Mohamed bin Hammam has withdrawn from the Fifa presidential election, clearing the path for Sepp Blatter to continue his reign as head of football’s world governing body despite being faced with its gravest corruption crisis.

The Qatari challenger announced his withdrawal early on Sunday, hours before the start of a Fifa ethics hearing at its headquarters in Zurich. He is due to answer accusations that he had arranged bribes for up to 25 presidential voters on a campaign visit to the Caribbean.

Mr Blatter and Jack Warner, the Fifa Vice President, also stand accused of receiving bribes. The ethics committee has the power to remove Mr Blatter from standing in Wednesday’s Fifa presidential election, but Mr bin Hammam’s withdrawal should clear the way for the Swiss 75-year-old to be re-elected unopposed, as he was in 2007.

“Recent events have left me hurt and disappointed — on a professional and personal level,” Mr bin Hammam wrote on his personal website. “It saddens me that standing up for the causes that I believed in has come at a great price — the degradation of FIFA’s reputation. This is not what I had in mind for FIFA and this is unacceptable.

“I cannot allow the name that I loved to be dragged more and more in the mud because of competition between two individuals. The game itself and the people who love it around the world must come first. It is for this reason that I announce my withdrawal from the presidential election.”

Mr Bin Hammam, the head of the Asian Football Confederation, decided to run for the presidency after playing a key role in Qatar winning the rights to host the 2022 World Cup.

“I pray that my withdrawal will not be tied to the investigation held by the FIFA ethics committee as I will appear before the ethics committee to clear my name from the baseless allegations that have been made against me,” said mr bin Hammam said.