London, May 31 (IANS) Concerned with the series of allegations of corruption in FIFA, the Football Association (FA) has called for immediate postponement of Wednesday’s elections in the world soccer body.
The FA, which has decided to abstain from the elections to protest against England losing World Cup rights, has also received support from Scottish Football Association (SFA).
FA had made it clear earlier that they won’t support the incumbent Sepp Blatter, who is running for the fourth term as FIFA chairman.
FA chairman David Bernstein said there are two main reasons why they want the elections to be postponed.
‘First, a concern that a series of allegations relating to Fifa exco members made it difficult to support either candidate. Secondly, a concern about the lack of transparency and accountability within the organisation, contributing to the current unsatisfactory situation,’ Bernstein was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.
‘Events of the last few days have reinforced our views, and we call on Fifa and ask other national associations to support us with two initiatives,’ Bernstein said.
‘First, to postpone the election and give credibility to this process, so any alternative reforming candidate could have the opportunity to stand for president. Secondly, to appoint a genuinely independent external party to make recommendations regarding improved governance and compliance procedures and structures throughout the Fifa decision-making processes for consideration by the full membership.
‘This has been a very damaging time for the reputation of Fifa and therefore the whole of football. To improve confidence in the way the game is governed at the very top, we believe these requests would be a positive step forward and the minimum that should take place,’ he said.
The SFA also supported FA. ‘The Scottish FA can today confirm its position that the Fifa presidential election be postponed in light of recent uncertainty. We believe the election should be rescheduled to facilitate a period of consultation to deal with the issues that have arisen in recent weeks. The events of the last two days, in particular, have made any election unworkable,’ read a statement released by SFA.
