Fifa’s ‘integrity is at stake’ – Craig Foster asks why AFC chief Al-Khalifa is eligible for re-election
- Football activist Craig Foster sends letter to Fifa outlining ‘litany of issues’ with its vice-president
- Brings up bribery scandal and detention in Thailand of former Bahraini refugee Hakeem al-Araibi
Human rights activist Craig Foster has demanded Fifa explain why it has allowed vice-president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa to stand for re-election amid a series of controversies dating back to 2011.
The former Australia captain has raised three issues related to Al-Khalifa, who is seeking re-election on April 6 as Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president – which automatically comes with a Fifa vice-president’s seat.
The issues Foster raised were: the bribery scandal aimed at helping Al-Khalifa become AFC president; his decision to recuse himself from responsibility in the detention in Thailand of former Bahraini refugee Hakeem al-Araibi; and accusation of his involvement in the 2011 crackdown on Bahraini athletes during the Arab spring.
“The football world needs to know how Salman can possibly be deemed eligible given the litany of issues since at least 2011,” Foster said in an email to the media ahead of Fifa’s council meeting on Saturday in Bogota, Colombia.
“For reasons of probity and integrity of the game, Fifa should publish the evidence considered by the Fifa Review Committee and reasons for the decision which, in the circumstances, is simply extraordinary and goes to the heart of standards of sport governance. Or lack thereof.”