Infighting in Asia over the future of Fifa has taken a fresh twist after Prince Ali bin Hussein of Jordan appeared to retract claims of “coercion, threats” and “bribes”.
Prince Ali spoke out in a social media post on Sunday, days after the head of the Asian Football Confederation, Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, used an extraordinary congress to pledge the region’s support to under-fire Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
“Confederation presidents have no say: the vote is by each and every member association,” Prince Ali, a long-standing critic of the current Fifa regime, wrote on X.
“So any claims that have recently emerged that confederation or Fifa Council members have a part in the vote is not relevant.
“Having recently come back from Tokyo where the AFC Congress took place, the first two days were about football, which we all serve. The last day was pure politics at the behest of Gianni Infantino.
“There were reports that Asia has a united position when it comes to electing the next Fifa President. In fact, nobody was allowed to speak, question, debate or talk with the media.
“Lack of transparency leads to lack of accountability. No amount of coercion, threats or bribes should be allowed.”
Challenger to Infantino yet to emerge as deadline looms
The post has since been deleted by Prince Ali, who previously accused Fifa of “blackmail” for allegedly withholding funding unless he endorsed Infantino.
Sheikh Salman told Infantino last week that the AFC was “ready to move forward, united in your support”, just weeks after co-signing a letter with European and North American chiefs calling for his removal over “a fundamental breach of trust”.
Prince Ali, like Sheikh Salman, ran against Infantino in the 2016 Fifa presidential election that immediately followed the corruption scandal that led to Sepp Blatter’s ousting. He withdrew after forcing a second round of voting and has given no indication that he will stand again.
Infantino looks set to be re-elected unopposed in March, with no serious challengers having yet come forward ahead of next month’s deadline despite widespread criticism of his now-dropped plan to partially privatise the World Cup.
Fifa was approached for comment.