FIFA risks damaging its credibility even further if February’s presidential election is delayed, says Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein who hopes to succeed Sepp Blatter.
FIFA’s executive committee is holding an emergency meeting on October 20, amid reports the election might be delayed due to the crisis engulfing world football’s governing body — notably the provisional 90-day bans handed to Blatter and UEFA chief Michel Platini.
“With FIFA’s crisis deepening, the organization needs to move beyond interim leadership and elect an accountable president” said Prince Ali, who is a FIFA vice-president and head of the Jordan Football Association, in a statement.
“Delaying the scheduled election would only postpone needed change and create further instability,” added the 39-year-old. “It would tell the world that lessons haven’t been learned, that the same backroom deals that have discredited FIFA in the first place continue.”
Blatter and Platini, who is another presidential contender, are both appealing the provisional bans handed down by FIFA’s ethics committee in relation to a “disloyal” payment of $2 million made to the Frenchman in 2011 for work allegedly carried out between 1999 and 2002.
They both deny any wrongdoing and Platini maintains he will still stand for election.
“I am one of the members asking for an emergency meeting of the FIFA ExCo,” said ExCo member Michel D’Hooghe after Blatter and Platini were suspended.
“At the moment I have no information about an eventual postponing of the election but perhaps this point could be discussed there.”
Arguably Prince Ali is in pole position to succeed Blatter, given Platini’s problems and the fact another candidate, Korean Chung Moon-joon, was barred from the sport for six years and fined $103,000.
“The Executive Committee should not interfere with an ongoing process that was put in place by the ad hoc electoral committee. The election date of February 26 was set three months ago with a clear procedure that meets all of FIFA’s statutory requirements.
“Candidates have had plenty of time to declare and still do. The rules should not be changed after the game has started.”
Ali was the sole challenger to Blatter in the May 29 presidential election but conceded defeat after receiving 73 votes to the Swiss’ 133 in the first round of voting.
FIFA was plunged into crisis in late May when seven officials were charged for racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering by the FBI.
The charges are part of a U.S. prosecution that indicted a total of 14 people from around the globe.
Meanwhile, a separate probe by Swiss authorities is investigating potential corruption into the bidding process for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
