German broadcasters claimed on Monday that Valcke, who is overseeing the election campaign, put pressure on Bin Hammam to withdraw from the June 1 ballot following allegations of corruption surrounding Qatar’s successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup.
“Contrary to some media allegations I want to make it very clear that neither I nor anyone else at FIFA have asked Mr Mohammed bin Hammam at any point to withdraw his candidature for the upcoming FIFA presidency election,” said Valcke, according to The Guardian.
“The last time I met the AFC [Asian Football Confederation] president was at the Conmebol Congress in Asunción on May 1, where we simply greeted each other. Again these allegations are totally untrue,” Valcke added.
Qatari 2022 bid officials on Monday denied the allegations of corruption and sought to discredit an “embittered” whistleblower who is set to give evidence to FIFA on Wednesday. In a lengthy statement, Qatari officials called the claims of payments to FIFA Executive Committee members in return for votes during the tender for the 2022 World Cup as “distressing, insulting and incomprehensible”.
The statement also raised doubts about the “credibility of the reporters, their motivations and extent to which...the evidence in any way can be relied upon”.
