Infantino criticism lands Jordan FA chief judicial review with AFC

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkPrince Ali (2nd L), who has been a vocal critic of FIFA's leadership, said he would make no further comment while the matter remained under consideration [File: Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters]By ReutersPublished On 29 Oct 202629 Oct 2026Jordan Football Association chief Prince Ali bin Hussein said he will cooperate with any Asian Football Confederation (AFC) judicial review after he accused FIFA President Gianni Infantino of taking over last week’s AFC Congress for political purposes.AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa had endorsed Infantino for re-election at the continental body’s extraordinary congress in Tokyo.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Spanish football postpones 24 Copa del Rey games after train crashlist 2 of 4What is the controversy between Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe and China?list 3 of 4FIFA politics around Infantino re-election push Japanese official to resignlist 4 of 4Ballon d’Or win will help keep Kane at Bayern, says Germany’s Matthausend of listFollowing the meeting, Prince Ali alleged delegates had not been allowed to speak, question or debate matters and described the final day of the congress as “pure politics at the behest of Gianni Infantino”.The AFC said on Tuesday that neither Prince Ali nor any other member association’s representatives had requested to speak and that allegations involving coercion, threats or bribery should be supported by credible evidence.It added that it would refer Prince Ali’s statements to its judicial bodies.“I respect the AFC and its judicial bodies and will cooperate fully with any process,” Prince Ali said in a post on X late on Wednesday.“As the FIFA Statutes provide, the Jordan Football Association will cast its vote in the FIFA presidential election independently.”He said his earlier post about the congress was intended to explain the FIFA presidential voting process and highlight the importance of transparency in football governance.“Its final sentence states a principle the whole football family shares: no election should be open to coercion, threats or bribery. I stand by that principle. It was a statement of principle, not an allegation against any person,” he said.“Where concerns arise, the proper place for them is the competent bodies.”Prince Ali, who has been a vocal critic of FIFA’s leadership, said he would make no further comment while the matter remained under consideration.Infantino, who has led FIFA since 2016, is seeking re-election in March after apologising for his abandoned proposal to sell a stake in FIFA competitions.The AFC’s endorsement marked a sharp shift from its position three months earlier, when it accused FIFA of a “fundamental breach of trust” over the abandoned proposal.