Asia football chief Sheikh Salman urged to resign as AFC admits ‘conflict of interest’ over jailed refugee player
- Asian body releases first official statement on Bahraini’s arrest by Thai officials in November
- Statement slammed because it failed to condemn his detention nor call for his release
Activists have called for Asia’s football chief, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, to resign after the body admitted for the first time that the Bahraini royal family member has a “conflict of interest” in regard to his jailed compatriot, Hakeem al-Araibi.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) issued a press release on Saturday – its first official statement on Araibi 60 days after he was arrested by Thai authorities – saying it was working with Fifa, the Thai FA and Australia’s governing body on the issue.
However, the statement was slammed because it failed to call for Al-Araibi’s release, nor did it condemn his detention, especially after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued a statement on the same day, describing the player’s detention as “worrying” and calling for his return to Australia – where he was granted asylum in 2014 after he fled Bahrain.
“The Asian Football Confederation continues to work with Fifa, the global governing body, on the matter of the detention of Hakeem al-Araibi in Thailand to find a solution,” the statement said.
“AFC senior vice-president Praful Patel and the AFC administration are in contact with Fifa and coordinating the AFC’s work with not only Fifa, but other stakeholders such as the Bahrain Football Association, Football Federation of Australia and Football Federation of Thailand.
“Mr Patel was asked 18 months ago by the AFC executive committee to handle matters involving the AFC’s west zone to ensure there were no accusations of a conflict of interest involving AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa.”
In 2016, Al-Araibi publicly criticised Salman, accusing him of involvement in the crackdown of Bahraini athletes during the Arab spring. He travelled to Bangkok on November 27 for his honeymoon with assurances from Australia that he was safe.