Desperate Sam hits out at BBC

"We even asked the BBC how much time they would give us to answer their allegations.

"They didn't want a balanced report - they just wanted sensationalism."

The latest revelations on Hammam come just three days after Cardiff City were fined £20,000 for the violence that marred the club's FA Cup win over Leeds United in January.

It has been disclosed that 112 Cardiff City fans have been banned from travelling to the Far East for the World Cup - more than any other league club in England and Wales.

Asked if he was angry with the BBC, Hamman replied: "The BBC are a huge organisation. This programme came from just one small section of the BBC in London. The producers responsible are in a minority at the BBC and, like the hooligan minority at the club, it is now our duty to help them see the truth and become better people."

Hammam was heard using four letter swear words during the secretly filmed meeting.

He said: "If I had been speaking to The Queen I wouldn't have used those words, but you must remember this was a private meeting and I didn't know the BBC were secretly filming.

"If they had allowed the film to run on they would have heard me spreading the same anti-hooligan message that I do all over the country." Lebanese businessman Hammam called a press conference at Cardiff City's Ninian Park Ground yesterday, but banned the BBC.

He said: "The BBC's comment was that I am making fun of hooliganism, recognising and socialising with them.

"The camera clearly filmed the whole meeting.

"What transpired from that meeting - on my instigation - was that the fans formed a fans' charter to beat hooliganism."

Hammam defended his relationship with hooligans, saying his techniques have "worked".

He said: "If you want to beat the hooligans you don't go and meet the saints. All I can do is show them they are human beings and give them a sense of feeling wanted. It might help.

"Remember, keep your friends close, but keep your enemies even closer. We are a civilised nation and we have to treat people in a civilised way."

Hammam warned that the hooligans were threatening the future of the club.

He said: "It is imperative that everyone understands and agrees the biggest enemy to the dream of Cardiff City becoming a top-notch club are these hooligans.

"How can a family come to watch the game? How can we get people to invest in the club?

"We at Cardiff City are doing far more than any other clubs in the land and we are dealing with it as best we can."

Hammam said the fact that 112 Cardiff fans had been banned from travelling to the World Cup was a success and not a failure.

The BBC2 programme described how the former owner of Wimbledon FC was treated as a messiah when he bought Cardiff City in the summer of 2000.

The club was languishing in the Third Division, but two seasons later narrowly missed promotion to the First.

The programme showed how known hooligans were among the selected fans treated by Hammam on a coach trip to an away match at Mansfield.

Disturbances after the Leeds United match prompted Hammam to launch what he called a "war on hooliganism".

But further trouble followed an end- of- season play- off against Stoke City and the FAW Premier Cup Final with Swansea City.

Hammam last night called for a summit meeting between Cardiff City, Cardiff County Council, the police and the Football Association of Wales.