‘FIFA politics affected international fixtures’

GENEVA, Switzerland: Some national teams have been given unfavourable competition fixtures for failing to toe the political line inside football’s world governing body, the Jordanian candidate to become its next president said on Thursday.

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“Development projects mysteriously stall; tournament hosting bids are suddenly compromised or withdrawn; national teams start to mysteriously face less favourable fixtures or even referees.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

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.

“I’m referring to competitions and a lot of times it comes down to the (continental) confederations as well, and the way they approach games,” he said. “It’s a common feeling within the footballing world and it’s something that one has to really tackle and make sure there is no interference in terms of how things are planned,” he added.

Asked if the practice included World Cup qualifiers, he said: “I think sometimes it happens across the board. World Cup qualifiers are usually organised by the confederations of the continents in which they take place.”

“Confederations have a lot of pull in how they organise the tournaments, and FIFA has to keep a much more watchful eye because these are FIFA tournaments,” he added. He said he was surprised to learn when he joined the committee that meetings were held below ground at its Zurich headquarters.