Prince Ali says FIFA politics affected international fixtures

GENEVA, (Reuters) – Some national teams have been given unfavourable competition fixtures for failing to toe the political line inside soccer’s world governing body, the Jordanian candidate to become its next president said yesterday.

Prince Ali
Prince Ali

Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, one of five men competing to take over as head of FIFA, described a climate of fear and reprisals inside the scandal-plagued organisation, whose outgoing boss Sepp Blatter was suspended in October and banned for eight years in December.

“Let me tell you what happens when you don’t go with the recognised powers in FIFA,” Prince Ali, who is head of Jordan’s football association, told a news conference.

“Development projects mysteriously stall; tournament hosting bids are suddenly compromised or withdrawn; national teams start to mysteriously face less favourable fixtures or even referees.

“All of these are effective ways to punish member associations that fail to demonstrate political loyalty.”

FIFA is mired in the worst crisis in its 111-year history, with corruption investigations under way in Switzerland and the United States. Several dozen people, including senior soccer officials, have been indicted.

Prince Ali is regarded as an outsider in the Feb. 26 election to succeed Blatter, who has led FIFA since 1998. Swiss-Italian Gianni Infantino has won the backing of European soccer’s governing body UEFA and South America’s CONMEBOL, while Africa’s confederation has backed Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain.

Speaking later to Reuters Television, Prince Ali did not enlarge on the allegation that national teams had been given unfavourable fixtures, but he said the practice had extended to FIFA competitions.