KUALA LUMPUR – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Oct 27 said it would refer Jordan Football Association president Prince Ali bin Hussein to its judicial bodies, after he accused FIFA president Gianni Infantino of hijacking the AFC Congress for political purposes.

At the AFC’s extraordinary congress in Tokyo on Oct 23, its president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa endorsed Infantino’s bid for re-election as FIFA president.

Only three months after the confederation accused Infantino of a “fundamental breach of trust” over the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal to sell a stake in FIFA tournaments, Sheikh Salman told the congress that Asia was now united behind Infantino.

Following the congress, Prince Ali alleged that nobody was allowed to speak, question, debate or talk with the media and that the last day of the event was “pure politics”.

In response, the AFC said neither Prince Ali nor any other member association’s representatives had requested to speak and that it rejected any suggestion that proceedings were conducted improperly.

“The AFC takes seriously the unsupported and entirely unsubstantiated allegations of coercion, threats or bribery. Such serious accusations must be supported by credible evidence and should not be made without a proper factual basis,” it added.

“Accordingly, the AFC will refer the statements made by the president of the Jordan Football Association, including the allegations raised, to the relevant AFC judicial bodies for their consideration and any further action deemed appropriate in accordance with the AFC Statutes and applicable regulations.”

In August, Prince Ali launched a public attack on Infantino, accusing him of “blackmail” and saying FIFA had offered to help solve the kingdom’s problems in exchange for his endorsement. REUTERS