FIFA Vice-president Issa Hayatou says bribery claims against him made in the BBC's Panorama expose will not sway his decision in Thursday's World Cup vote. There are fears Hayatou could turn against England's bid to host the 2018 tournament because of the allegations.

However, he said: "There is a big difference between Panorama and my relationship with the England bid. There is no confusion in my mind." Hayatou strongly denies taking a bribe and has threatened to sue the BBC.

The England bid team has criticised the decision by the BBC to broadcast the Panorama edition on Monday, only three days before the vote to decide the host of the 2018, as well as the 2022, World Cup finals. England face competition from Russia, Spain/Portugal and Netherlands/Belgium to win the right to hold the 2018 competition.

On Wednesday, the four 2018 candidates and five 2022 hopefuls will make their final 30-minute presentations at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.

Hayatou, 64, was accused by Panorama of taking 100,000 French francs (£12,900) in 1995 from sports marketing firm ISL. The now-defunct business had been lobbying to gain lucrative rights from FIFA. However, Cameroonian Hayatou has said the sum was in fact paid to the Confederation of African Football, which he heads, as part of a sponsorship deal. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it will look into the bribery allegations because Hayatou is also a member of the IOC.

A BBC spokesman says the corporation will stand by the claims made in Panorama.