Asian delegates will not stage a boycott of the FIFA congress, embattled Asian football chief Mohamed bin Hammam told AFP on Tuesday. Bin Hammam, who has been suspended from the meeting pending a corruption probe, said he had instructed delegates from Asia not to stage a walkout of Wednesday’s meeting in protest. “I have told the Asian delegates not to boycott the congress,” he told AFP. Asian officials in Zurich have expressed outrage at the treatment of regional chief bin Hammam, who was due to have challenged FIFA chief Sepp Blatter before withdrawing from the race early Sunday. Speculation had mounted that officials from Asia may stage a walkout similar to their boycott at a 1999 congress in Los Angeles. However Asian Football Confederation president bin Hammam said that Asian officials would seek to register any protest from within FIFA. “We are a leading confederation now,” he said. “It’s totally different from 1999 when we were weak. Now we can talk to others on the same level. We can raise our voice and try to make a voice from within FIFA.”
Asian delegates won’t boycott FIFA, says bin Hammam
