Hammam And Blatter Rivalities Until The Issue Of Bribe Behind The Qatar Election As Hosts For The 2022 World Cup

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be held on November 20, 2022. (ANTARA/AFP/Christof Stache)

JAKARTA - The rivalry between Mohammad bin Hammam and Sepp Blatter in the FIFA Presidential election in 2011 leaves a long story. Hammam at that time served as President of the Asian Football Confederation. Meanwhile, Sepp Blatter is the incumbent who has served as President of FIFA three times.

However, surprisingly, Hammam resigned from his candidacy. A number of parties suspect Hammam's move is related to allegations of bribery against him.

The FIFA Ethics Commission summoned Hammam on charges of bribery football officials in Africa to buy a vote on the success of Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup.

However, Hammam did not want his decision to be linked to the FIFA Ethics Commission's examination.

"I made the decision to nominate myself as the head of FIFA because I wanted to make a commitment to make changes in FIFA. But some things have recently made my heart hurt and disappointed," said Hammam as reported by Antara.

"I'm sad to see the reality now and this is an expensive price, the relegation of FIFA's reputation. This is not something I have in mind for FIFA and this is unacceptable. For this reason, I am announcing my resignation from the plan to participate in the election of chairman," Hammam emphasized.

Hammam also promised to prove that the accusation was groundless. According to him, what he did was giving a gift, not a bribe.

"Tying to give gifts is something that is usually done at FIFA and exchanging gifts with FIFA administrators should not be categorized as an attempt to make bribes," Hammam told Sky Sport.

Related to that, Qatari authorities also reacted strongly. According to them, Hammam never had an official role in supporting his bidding as host and always acting independently of Qatar's campaign as host. Hammam carried out the action in an effort to become President of FIFA. Not related to Qatar's efforts to host the World Cup.

The FIFA Ethics Commission imposed sanctions not to be involved in the world of football for life. Hammam then filed an appeal. The Court of Arbitration Olah Raga (CAS) considers the evidence alleged against Hammam to be insufficient.

The panel decided that the available evidence was not strong enough and made the majority of the Panel members unable to grant the petitioner's accusations, "concluded the statement.

Hammam's resignation from the nomination market certainly smoothed Sepp Blatter's move to become FIFA's fourth president for a period.

However, the case then raises negative issues against FIFA. Four years later, it was Sepp Blatter's turn to be involved in a corruption scandal.

The scandal tarnished the euphoria of Blatter's victory as FIFA President for the fifth time on May 29, 2015. Some people think Blatter is no longer worthy of holding the position because he has not succeeded in bringing changes to FIFA's body.

Blatter was accused of carrying out illegal transactions worth 2.06 million Swiss francs in 2011 to recruit Michael Platini as his technical adviser to become a successor in the FIFA presidential election against Muhammad bin Hammam. The Platini at that time did have a strong influence as UEFA President.

However, Blatter argued that the nominal amount of money paid to Platini was a service fee. The salary of 300 thousand Swiss francs given to Platini was only part of the real amount of income that Platini had to receive. FIFA could not pay in full to Platini at that time due to financial problems.

"So, Platini's remaining salary of one million euros per year will be paid later in the day," Blatter was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Sepp Blatter (right) and Michael Platini were declared free from bribery charges. (The42.ie)

On the charge, less than a week, on June 2, 2015, Blatter officially resigned. He and Platini were even sentenced not to be involved in world football for 8 years.

The legal process continues. As of July 8, 2022, the Federal Court in Bellinzona, Switzerland declared Blatter and Platini free from bribery charges.

Platini, as reported by Sky Sport, said the scandal was a deliberate attempt to thwart her attempt to become FIFA President in 2015.

"I would like to express my happiness to everyone I love that justice is finally served after seven years of lies and manipulation," Platini said after the decision.

The FIFA Executive Committee, in December 2010, designated Qatar as host of the 2022 World Cup. In fact, this Middle Eastern country has a hot climate that makes matches difficult.

In an interview with the SwissTages-Anzeiger newspaper recently, Blatter considered it a mistake.

"At that time, we actually agreed on the executive committee that Russia should get the 2018 World Cup and the United States in 2022. It would be a sign of peace if two long political opponents hosted the World Cup one by one," he said.

"It's a country that's too small. Football and the World Cup are too big for that," Blatter continued as reported by Sky Sport.

Moreover, in the preparation stage, there were bad issues. Concerns about the suffering of low-paid migrant workers to build infrastructure and discriminatory laws that criminalize same-sex relationships have become a topic that is widely discussed.

However, now, the 2022 World Cup is only 11 days away. Blatter did not deny that he was responsible for the tournament that took place there.