Banned Hammam sparks racism row

Disgraced Asian football chief Mohamed bin Hammam has claimed race was a factor in his lifetime ban from football over bribery charges.

"Were I a European, or were the Caribbean part of Europe, neither Sepp Blatter (FIFA president) nor Jerome Valcke (secretary general) will dare lay a finger on us," he stated in a letter to Petrus Damaseb, the deputy head of FIFA's ethics panel.