FIFA vice-president Llona defends his executive colleagues

A vice president of football's controlling body FIFA, Angel Maria Villar Llona, on Thursday came out in support of his colleagues on the executive committee over corruption allegations, saying they were honest and hardworking, DPA reported.

"There has been a lot of slander in the internationally media recently. I say FIFA is honest and hardworking and the members of the executive are honest and hardworking," Llona said.

The Spaniard Llona was addressing the FIFA executive as the president of the joint Spanish/Portuguese bid to host the 2018 World Cup finals.

FIFA has come under severe criticism in the run-up to Thursday's election of the 2018 and 2022 hosts.

Vice president Reynald Temarii and executive member Amos Adamu were banned from all footballing activities for one and three years, respectively, over allegations they asked journalists disguised as businessmen for money in exchange for their votes.

On Monday the BBC aired a television programme in which they claimed that three other executive members took bribes from the marketing company ISL, which has since gone bankrupt.

But Llona called on the media to stop - what he described as - their campaign against FIFA.

"It is enough now. They must stop their slander and lies," he said.

"There has been a lot of slander in the internationally media recently. I say FIFA is honest and hardworking and the members of the executive are honest and hardworking.

"Everybody who is sitting here is clean and is working for the good of football throughout the world. Also those who are not here are clean.

"The bid process is clean."

Llona, whose speech in which he highlighted the reasons why the World Cup should be held on the Iberian peninsula took their presentation well over the allotted 30 minutes, was meet with rousing applause from the FIFA executive and others in the hall.