Soccer-Jordan FA chief Prince Ali pledges cooperation with AFC judicial review

Jordan Football Association chief Prince Ali bin Hussein ​said he will cooperate with any Asian Football ​Confederation judicial review after he accused FIFA ‌President ​Gianni Infantino of hijacking last week's AFC Congress for political purposes.

AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa had endorsed Infantino for reelection at the continental body's ‌extraordinary congress in Tokyo. Following 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".

FIFA did not respond to ‌a Reuters request for comment on Prince Ali's remarks. 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. The AFC ⁠did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Prince Ali's latest post.

Infantino, who has led FIFA ⁠since 2016, is seeking reelection ⁠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.

(Reporting Ashraf ​Hamed Atta;Editing by Peter Rutherford )