He expressed hope that Bin Hammam would come clean out of the allegations (of bribery) that he has been facing. Prince Nawaf made these comments in a press briefing here on Wednesday evening after heading Saudi Arabia’s delegation to the 61st FIFA Congress.
Prince Nawaf, who is also president of Saudi Football Federation, expressed pleasure at attending the FIFA general assembly which he described as a success by all means. He also congratulated Sepp Blatter on his unanimous re-election to lead FIFA for another four-year term, Al-Watan Arabic daily reported.
Referring to the issue of Mohamed bin Hammam, Prince Nawaf hoped that the 62-year old Qatari would overcome the present crisis in a way realizing the aspirations of all. “What he has been facing now is purely an international issue and it has no relation whatsoever with any Arab or other states. As a sports issue, the concerned committee under FIFA is examining the matter and none else can interfere in its activities,” he said while hoping a sound culmination for the entire issue.
Prince Nawaf noted that Bin Hammam is known to him as a prominent figure, who has made immense contributions to football at the Asian and global level. “I am sure that the issue would take its legal course, and that the rights of all those concerned would be safeguarded. Bin Hammam has the capability to take the necessary legal procedures in this respect,” he said.
The chief of Asian Football Confederation pulled out of the race to head football's world governing body. The move came hours before Bin Hammam was due to face an ethics committee hearing into bribery claims. Bin Hammam stressed his withdrawal must not "be tied to the investigation held by the FIFA ethics committee", pledging that he would appear before the panel to clear his name.
Expressing happiness over the outcome of FIFA Congress, Prince Nawaf thanked Blatter for his proposal to shift power to award future World Cup hosting rights to the 208-member congress. “Blatter has also promised to conduct the election of members of the ethics committee and other related committees from among the member states. This is a positive step with regard to the functioning of FIFA,” he said.
Prince Nawaf met Blatter at the end of the Congress. The Saudi Football Federation chief also congratulated him and wished him good luck to carry on the task he began to shoulder since 1998 as the president of FIFA. During the meeting, they discussed a number of bilateral issues between Saudi Arabia and FIFA and ways to further bolster them.
