In a scathing statement, Prince Ali Bin Hussein, the president of the Jordanian Football Association, has accused FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, of attempted blackmail and withholding prize money. Prince Ali, who has twice run unsuccessfully for the FIFA presidency, claimed that the association is still awaiting payment for reaching the final of the FIFA Arab Cup last year.
He further criticized FIFA for the visa issues faced by several Jordan fans for the recent World Cup and claimed that Jordan's World Cup prize money is being taxed by the US government through FIFA. Prince Ali stated that he was informed that endorsing Infantino's re-election bid would help their FA.
In his statement, Prince Ali mentioned that the Jordanian FA has been waiting for the reward money for their players since December for the Arab Cup in Qatar, which is a FIFA event. He expressed frustration over FIFA's refusal to help on these matters until he was told that endorsing Infantino would expedite their situation.
Prince Ali, who lost to Sepp Blatter in the 2015 FIFA presidential election and was third in the following year's election behind Infantino and Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, emphasized that they did not endorse Infantino before and will not do so now. He concluded that the situation amounts to blackmail and they refuse to give in to that.
Infantino, who succeeded Blatter in 2016, was expected to be re-elected as FIFA president for a fourth term but his position is now under threat. Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and FIFA's chief of global football development, as well as FIFA's secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom, have criticized Infantino's handling of the scrapped investor plan.
Several UEFA member associations, including Wales, Finland, Sweden, and Serbia, have withdrawn their support for Infantino, and the English FA is rumored to be on the verge of joining them.
