Both contenders in next week's Fifa presidential election must now answer claims of corruption after Sepp Blatter was asked to appear before the organisation's ethics committee.

Mohamed Bin Hammam, his rival in the contest, is already due at Sunday's hearing in Zurich to answer a charge of bribery.

With Jack Warner, the Trinidadian vice-president of Fifa, also answering questions, it means three of the most powerful men in world football must answer questions surrounding alleged corruption.

Bin Hammam is alleged to have handed over US$40,000 to members of the Caribbean Football Union to secure their support for his presidency campaign.

He publicly counter-claimed against Blatter, suggesting he had breached Fifa's ethics policy by being aware of the wrongdoing but not reporting it.

With Blatter and Bin Hammam going head to head for the top job in world football, there have been calls for the election to be postponed until after the dust has settled from this fall-out.

"I don’t see how you can have an election process when both the candidates are  accused of corruption," said the UK's Sports Minister Hugh Robertson. 

"It would make a complete nonsense of that process. The sensible thing for Fifa to do now would be to suspend the election and have a robust and independent investigation."

The corruption scandal surrounding Fifa has mushroomed since the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals culminated with Russia and Qatar being awarded the tournaments.

The Football Association have sent Fifa a dossier detailing allegations of corruption in the bidding process, including Warner asking for various donations in return for his support.