Asian football has been rocked. The Asian Football Confederation has decided to refer the president of the Jordan Football Association, Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, to its judicial bodies after he levelled serious accusations at FIFA president Gianni Infantino, claiming he exploited the confederation’s congress for political purposes and describing it as a show.
According to “Reuters“, the AFC will refer Prince Ali to its competent judicial bodies over the fiery statements he made following the confederation’s extraordinary congress held in Tokyo last Friday.
What ignited the crisis?
At the Tokyo extraordinary congress, AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa threw his full weight behind Gianni Infantino’s nomination for re-election as president of FIFA. Asia, he confirmed, was now united behind Infantino.
That shift comes just three months after the AFC itself accused Infantino of committing a “serious breach of trust” over the cancelled FIFA Forward Enterprise company proposal to sell a stake in FIFA tournaments. The current rapprochement is both surprising and controversial.
Prince Ali then dropped a bombshell. He claimed “no one was allowed to speak, ask questions, debate or communicate with the media”, branding the final day of the congress “merely a political show”.
A harsh response from the Asian Football Confederation
The AFC hit back hard and fast. In an official statement, the confederation denied Prince Ali’s claims, insisting that neither he nor any representative of any other member association had asked to speak in the first place, and that it rejects any insinuation of irregularities in the conduct of the proceedings.
“The Asian Football Confederation takes very seriously the claims unsupported by any evidence or proof regarding coercion, threats or bribery,” the confederation said. “These serious accusations must be supported by credible evidence, and may not be made without a sound factual basis.”
The statement went on: “Accordingly, the Asian Football Confederation will refer the statements of the president of the Jordan Football Association, including the claims raised, to the confederation’s competent judicial bodies to consider them and take any other action it deems appropriate in accordance with the AFC statutes and the applicable regulations.”
An old attack renewed
This is not the first time Prince Ali has gone after the FIFA president. Last August, he launched a sharp public attack on Infantino, accusing him of “blackmail” and claiming FIFA had offered to help resolve the kingdom’s problems in exchange for his political support. Those accusations return today to leave Asian football caught between loyalty to FIFA and the independence of its own decision-making.