London: FIA president Max Mosley will miss Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix because of legal issues.

Mosley, who has said he would take legal action against the British tabloid that accused him of engaging in sexual acts with five prostitutes in a scenario that involved Nazi role-playing, will instead stay in Britain.

"The FIA president will not be attending the Bahrain Grand Prix as scheduled," FIA said on Wednesday in a statement to The Associated Press. "We understand that legal matters detained him in London."

Mosley had been scheduled to attend the Formula One race and join the Bahraini Royal Family for a formal dinner.

On Tuesday, the 67-year-old Mosley rejected calls to step down, writing a letter to FIA officials saying he was embarrassed by what the News of the World reported but adding there was no "Nazi connotation to the matter."

Mosley is the son of British Union of Fascists party founder Oswald Mosley, a former British politician who served in Parliament for the Labour and Conservative parties. Oswald Mosley died in 1980.

Some people involved in the sport have called for Mosley's resignation, including 1979 F1 champion Jody Scheckter. But F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has essentially backed Mosley, saying what the FIA president did was "nobody else's business."
Source : PTI