Hammam drops FIFA chief bid

DROPPING OUT ... FIFA candidate Bin Hammam

THE fight to lead FIFA has turned to farce after Sepp Blatter's only rival dropped out over bribe claims.

Qatar's Mohamed Bin Hammam withdrew his bid to become president next Wednesday - just 24 hours before he is due to face an Ethics Committee hearing.

Bin Hammam, 62, president of the Asian Football Confederation, insists he has backed out to stop his fight with Blatter dragging football's reputation "through the mud".

He has accused Blatter of ignoring backhanders that were offered to rig the FIFA presidency elections.

But Bin Hammam faces allegations himself at today's FIFA's probe in in Zurich over the bung scandal.

The third man accused is Jack Warner, chief of the North and Central America and the Caribbean Federation.

Bin Hammam said: "Recent events have left me hurt and disappointed - on a professional and personal level.

"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 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."

Blatter is now likely to win a fourth term - unless he takes a hammering from today's investigation.

He insists "the facts will speak for themselves" while Warner predicted a "football tsunami" was about to strike

Today's probe centres on a report from Chuck Blazer, the USA's FIFA executive committee member, into a meeting between Caribbean officials, Warner and Bin Hammam in Port of Spain this month - linked to the election campaign.

Bin Hammam added: "I pray that my withdrawal will not be tied to the investigation as I will appear before the Ethics Committee to clear my name from the baseless allegations that have been made against me."

"I have a special thank you to my friend and colleague Jack Warner for his unlimited support.

"I look forward to working closely with my colleagues to restore FIFA's reputation to what it should be - a protector of the game that has credibility through honesty, transparency and accountability."