SHEIKH SALMAN RETURNS UNOPPOSED
AFC chief’s new term triggers complaints from campaigners
ASIA’S football chief and Fifa’s second-in-command Sheikh Salman Ebrahim Al-Khalifa received a fresh, four-year term yesterday, drawing criticism from campaigners who said regional football was in “crisis” over human rights.
The Bahraini royal, who was standing unopposed, was elected in his absence at the Asian Football Confederation Congress in Kuala Lumpur, which he missed following the death of his mother on Wednesday.
Sheikh Salman was criticised by rights groups this year for his silence over the case of Bahraini refugee footballer Hakeem AlAraibi, who was detained in Thailand and threatened with extradition to Bahrain.
Hakeem, who was released following an international outcry, believes he was targeted for claiming Sheikh Salman was involved in a crackdown on antigovernment protests in 2011
which included the arrest and alleged torture of footballers.
The former Bahrain FA chief has long refuted the accusation, which was aired when he first came to power at the AFC in a landslide election in 2013.
Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch, said “Asian football is in a crisis”, accusing Sheikh Salman and others of failing to protect human rights.
“Sheikh Salman should commit to uphold and to carry out Fifa’s 2017 Human Rights Policy, including in his home country,” Minky wrote in a commentary responding to his re-election.
However, Fifa president Gianni Infantino said Asia was showing unity and “stability” by re-electing Sheikh Salman, who sent a statement apologising for his absence.
The Bahraini pointed to a record commercial deal struck last year, and said it would not have been possible without good governance and reforms to AFC competitions.
“Together, we will grow stronger. Together, Asian football will grow stronger,” he said.
Sheikh Salman now starts a new term lasting until 2023 which also renews his position as world body Fifa’s senior vice-president under Infantino.
Former Australia international Craig Foster, who campaigned for Hakeem’s release, said the reelection “serves to demonstrate that the level of governance of world football remains as unrepresentative and unaccountable as ever”.
“Asian football is presided over by a person who failed to protect a player’s human rights,” said Foster.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Saoud AlMohannadi rejected a Korean complaint over alleged campaigning irregularities as he won a coveted place on the Fifa Council and South Korea’s Chung Mong Gyu lost his seat.
Saoud, one of six Asian Football Confederation delegates to be voted on to the powerful council, while also retaining his position as an AFC vice-president said the complaint claiming preferential treatment for Qatar was unfounded.
“The complaint had no grounds actually,” Saoud said.
“I don’t know what he had in his mind to file this complaint but we worked with them for a long time, with the Korean FA.”
The other elected representatives are Du Zhaocai (China), Praful Patel (India), Kohzo Tashima (Japan) and Mariano V. Areneta Jr. (Philippines).