Bin Hammam, who along with FIFA vice-president Jack Warner has been charged with bribery, claims Blatter has also been named in evidence submitted to the ethics committee ahead of a hearing on Sunday.

The 62-year-old, who is standing against Blatter in next week's presidential election, said in a statement: "Mohamed Bin Hammam, member of the executive committee of FIFA, was surprised by yesterday's accusations of bribery. He rejects these accusations and confirms that they are without substance.

"The accusations also contain statements according to which Mr Blatter, the incumbent FIFA president, was informed of, but did not oppose, payments allegedly made to members of the Caribbean Football Union.

"Mr Bin Hammam has therefore requested that the investigation by the Ethics Committee be extended to include Mr Blatter himself.

"The timing of the accusations so close to the election of FIFA president on June 1, suggests that they are part of a plan to damage Mr Bin Hammam and force him to withdraw as a candidate for the FIFA presidency."

Bin Hammam added: "I am not at all afraid to answer any questions that the Ethics Committee may have for me at the hearing next Sunday. As long as the Committee guarantees a fair process, I have nothing to fear."

Blatter had earlier insisted he was deeply saddened by the bribery allegations and branded claims that he is trying to smear his opponent as "ludicrous".

Blatter said in his column on insideworldfootball.biz: "To now assume that the present ordeal of my opponent were to fill me with some sort of perverse satisfaction or that this entire matter was somehow masterminded by me is ludicrous and completely reprehensible.

"I am shocked, saddened and deeply unhappy about the charges levelled against a man whose friendship I enjoyed for many years. It gives me no pleasure to see him suffer public disgrace before an investigation would even have started."

The pair will face long bans if the allegations - made by fellow executive committee member Chuck Blazer - are proven and Blatter commended the American for coming forward.

He added: "I am all for the zero-tolerance policy I announced a while back and will continue to fight corruption in football to the best of my ability.

"But I also admire Chuck Blazer's civic courage and an initiative that resulted from reports he received from within the confederation he administers as its secretary general.

"I am horrified by the most recent developments that are shedding a very bad light on FIFA yet again: no sane person can take pleasure in this development, and no decent person will enjoy the troubles of others, be that friend or foe."

Blatter pledged reforms of FIFA if he is re-elected next week and said he hopeful that FIFA "can weather the storm of its own creation".

In a bizarre ending to his column, the 75-year-old invoked a parable from his homeland of Switzerland.

He said: "When a Swiss farmer's neighbour has a cow while he has none, the less fortunate farmer will work twice as hard so that one day he can buy a cow as well. When another farmer, elsewhere, on an island, say, has no cow but his neighbour does, that farmer will kill the neighbour's cow out of sheer malice.

"I'd rather be a Swiss farmer, like it or not."

New details emerged today of the file of evidence compiled against the two FIFA members - it can be revealed it includes copies of emails sent by Warner seeking to arrange a special congress for Bin Hammam to meet associations from the CONCACAF federation.

The file, compiled by US lawyer John Collins at the request of Blazer, includes signed affidavits from several witnesses who allege they were offered bundles of cash of up to 40,000 US dollars (£24,400).

FIFA today announced that they will hold a news conference in Zurich on Sunday evening following the outcome of the ethics committee hearing.