Blatter Rival Vows To Fight Lifetime Ban

The former head of Asian football, Mohamed bin Hammam, has vowed to fight his lifetime ban from the game.

Fifa's ethics committee found the 62-year-old Qatari guilty of attempting to buy votes ahead of the organisation's presidential election last month.

It concluded that there was " comprehensive, convincing and overwhelming " proof that bribes had been paid to officials to support Mr bin Hammam's campaign.

In a statement released through his legal counsel, Mr bin Hammam said: "We are confident of the strength of our case and invite Fifa to make available now to the media a full transcript of these proceedings."

He has also fired the first shots in a personal crusade against the current president Sepp Blatter.

On his blog he has released a letter from Mr Blatter, dated June 2008, in which he is thanked for "his tireless work and support".

Underneath, Mr bin Hammam has added the cryptic note: "This is only the battle, not the war..."

However, at least one senior football official has welcomed the lifetime ban, describing Mr bin Hammam as "the architect of bribery and corruption" in the region.

Former Asian Football Confederation general secretary Peter Velappan said that "justice is done and it's good for Fifa and good for football".

"I hope Fifa will continue this relentless effort to also bring the other rogues in the FIFA executive committee to account."