61st FIFA Congress that I love to be dragged more and more in the mud because of competition between two individuals. The game itself and the people who love it around the world must come first." The incumbent President of FIFA, Sepp Blatter ran for a fourth consecutive term, having been elected in 1998, and reelected in 2002 and 2007. On 13 May Blatter warned that FIFA would be plunged into "a black hole" if Bin Hammam won the election. Of the vote Blatter said that "The ballot could lead to a seismic shift with irreversible damage...Quite simply, the survival of FIFA is
FIFA general, Jérôme Valcke, had told him via e-mail that Qatar had bought the 2022 World Cup. Valcke subsequently issued a statement denying he had suggested it was bribery, saying instead that the country had "used its financial muscle to lobby for support". Qatar officials denied any impropriety. Bin Hammam also responded by writing to FIFA, protesting unfair treatment in suspension by the FIFA Ethics Committee and FIFA administration. Further evidence emerged of alleged corruption. On 30 May 2011, Fred Lunn, vice-president of the Bahamas Football Association, said that he was given $40,000 in cash as an incitement to vote for