- DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Mohamed bin Hammam has criticized FIFA President Sepp Blatter for spending the governing body’s money “arbitrarily” on an Interpol program without consulting the executive body.
Bin Hammam is challenging Blatter in FIFA’s presidential election on June 1.
The 61-year-old Qatari said on Twitter on Thursday that Blatter “has taken on too much of an executive role” by announcing plans to donate €20 million ($29 million) to Interpol to tackle match-fixing and betting fraud over the next decade.
Bin Hammam says: “Imagine FIFA financing Interpol’s activities!” He says the decision “was taken arbitrarily by the FIFA President and was not discussed with the Executive Committee.” Blatter, who is under pressure to address alleged corruption with the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding, has made fighting corruption a central campaign theme.