The Soccerex Asian Forum on Wednesday saw AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam underscore his friendly and warm relationship with FIFA President Joseph S Blatter.

Replying to a question about reports of disagreement between him and the FIFA chief, Bin Hammam was forthright and put the record straight.

The AFC President said: “Even with my own brother, the son of my father and mother, sometimes I have arguments and differences. Blatter is not going to be an exception.”

Bin Hammam added: “Even though there are differences sometimes, he is my good friend.”

Earlier this month, the AFC chief had applauded and acknowledged Blatter’s pivotal role in ensuring a very successful World Cup in South Africa.

Then Bin Hammam said: “I have to put on the record that Blatter’s bet on South Africa has paid off. Much of the credit has to go to his personal efforts and determination.

“I think he has put his neck out for this decision,” Bin Hammam added. “We didn’t expect to see a World Cup so successfully conducted, (that) the teams are going to be comfortable, fans are going to be enjoying it.

“But at the end of the day what we saw was that everything was perfectly done—more than what we expected.” (AFC)