His move leaves the field clear for the incumbent Sepp Blatter to be elected unopposed for another four-year term as President of FIFA.
However he too is to face the same committee to clarify allegations of campaign bribes.
Both bin Hammam and FIFA Vice-President Jack Warner have repeatedly said there is no truth in allegations that they paid some Caribbean voters at a meeting in Port of Spain three weeks ago.
Warner had invited bin Hammam to Trinidad to make a presentation to CONCAF, which Warner heads. The Qatari FIFA executive was denied a visa to go to the United States to make his presentation, so Warner provided the opportunity for him to do it in Port of Spain in the interest of fairness.
It was CONCACAF general secretary, American Chuck Blazer, who complained about his FIFA executive committee colleagues bin Hammam and Warner.
Bin Hammam decided to run for the presidency after helping Qatar secure hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup.
He announced his withdrawal on his personal website.
Bin Hammam decided to run for the presidency after helping Qatar secure hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup.
He announced his withdrawal on his personal website.
“Recent events have left me hurt and disappointed — on a professional and personal level,” bin Hammam wrote. “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.
“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,” bin Hammam said.
Blazer delivered a file containing sworn statements from some Caribbean football leaders that sparked an explosive round of allegations, denials and conspiracy accusations in the final days of campaigning.
Bin Hammam and Warner, a 28-year FIFA veteran, are accused of arranging bribes for up to 25 presidential voters on a campaign visit.
Blazer claimed that Caribbean Football Union members were offered US$40,000 each at a conference in Trinidad May 9-10 conference in Trinidad, where Warner is a government minister.
Bin Hammam has acknowledged paying travel and accommodation expenses, and conference costs, but has denied vote-buying.
Instead, he implicated Blatter’s camp in a plot to remove him from the election contest, and fought back by successfully bringing the FIFA president into the ethics case.
According to bin Hammam’s formal complaint, Blatter broke FIFA “duty of disclosure” rules because he was apparently aware via Warner that payments had been arranged and “had no issue.”
Warner dismissed suggestions that the evidence file compiled by John Collins, a former United States federal prosecutor who is now a member of FIFA’s legal committee, could end his career within football’s ruling body.
“I will hold my head high to the very end because I am not guilty of a single iota of wrongdoing. Qué será, será. I am not remotely bothered.”
“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.
“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,” bin Hammam said.
Blazer delivered a file containing sworn statements from some Caribbean football leaders that sparked an explosive round of allegations, denials and conspiracy accusations in the final days of campaigning.
Bin Hammam and Warner, a 28-year FIFA veteran, are accused of arranging bribes for up to 25 presidential voters on a campaign visit.
Blazer claimed that Caribbean Football Union members were offered US$40,000 each at a conference in Trinidad May 9-10 conference in Trinidad, where Warner is a government minister.
Bin Hammam has acknowledged paying travel and accommodation expenses, and conference costs, but has denied vote-buying.
Instead, he implicated Blatter’s camp in a plot to remove him from the election contest, and fought back by successfully bringing the FIFA president into the ethics case.
According to bin Hammam’s formal complaint, Blatter broke FIFA “duty of disclosure” rules because he was apparently aware via Warner that payments had been arranged and “had no issue.”
Warner dismissed suggestions that the evidence file compiled by John Collins, a former United States federal prosecutor who is now a member of FIFA’s legal committee, could end his career within football’s ruling body.
“I will hold my head high to the very end because I am not guilty of a single iota of wrongdoing. Qué será, será. I am not remotely bothered.”
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