Jordan Accuses FIFA President Infantino of Blackmail Amid World Cup Stake Controversy
Prince Ali bin Hussein details alleged pressure tactics, including delayed payments and visa issues, as 91 nations now oppose Infantino's leadership.
Image: Eddie Pollard / AI
Sarah Connor
FIFA President Gianni Infantino faces accusations of blackmail from Jordan's FA president, Prince Ali bin Hussein.
Prince Ali bin Hussein, who lost to Infantino in the 2016 FIFA presidential election, detailed a series of critical issues confronting the Jordanian FA.
These issues include visa problems for fans, taxes on participation in the USA, and delayed reward money for players from the Arab Cup.
Prince Ali stated, "First, getting our fans into the USA: not all were granted VISAS, even though they had tickets - which we also know were sold at exorbitant prices."
He further explained that the US government taxes Jordan's FA through FIFA for their World Cup participation, a situation not faced by teams in Canada and Mexico.
This was not the case for those who played and set up camp in Canada and Mexico. But we happened to be in the USA so now we face these huge costs in taxes for having participated.
Reward money for Jordan's players from the Arab Cup in Qatar, a FIFA event, has not been delivered since December.
Prince Ali stated, "The money our team should receive for having reached the final has not been delivered yet, while at the same time FIFA brags about how many billions they have in reserve."
He claims Infantino created a situation amounting to blackmail, suggesting an endorsement for a fourth term would resolve the Jordanian FA's problems.
Prince Ali asserted, "For months, FIFA has been refusing to help us on any of these or other matters - until it was verbally communicated to me during the World Cup that if I endorsed Infantino it would go a long way to helping our FA out."
We pride ourselves in Jordan in upholding ethical values. We did not endorse him before and certainly will not now. But the whole situation amounts to blackmail and we refuse to give in to that.
FIFA previously announced its proposal to sell World Cup stakes to private investors would no longer proceed due to significant opposition from governing bodies.
Gianni Infantino reportedly defended the project as an opportunity and a consultation process before acknowledging it had created divisions and would not proceed.
Separately, Arsene Wenger issued a public statement to clarify his role within FIFA amidst the ongoing controversy.
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