Daily Times

The Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) executive committee has condemned the third-party interference in running of the affairs of Pakistan Football Federation (PFF). The executive committee of the AFC met in Abu Dhabi on Friday with Faisal Saleh Hayat also attending the meeting. Faisal, who was removed recently as PFF president in court-ordered elections, is also a member of AFC ExCo. The committee reiterated its support to Hayat-led PFF terming it the “legitimately elected Pakistan Football Federation.”

“The AFC Executive Committee meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE, promised their support to the ‘legitimately elected’ Pakistan Football Federation which has recently been replaced by order of the country’s Supreme Court,” said the AFC statement, following the meeting. The meeting supported the principle of non-governmental interference in the running of Member Associations and confirmed their backing for whatever action FIFA may take in restoring the elected PFF officials.

Hayat was recently ousted as PFF president after Syed Ashiq Hussain was elected the new president in elections held on orders of Supreme Court of Pakistan. However, FIFA refuses to acknowledge by terming elections on court orders as a third-party influence and threatened Pakistan Football Federation with suspension. “The Order issued by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on November 14, 2018, seems to be incompatible with the decision taken by the FIFA Member Associations Committee on September 26, 2018,” the FIFA had said. “Should elections at the PFF take place on a date that is imposed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, this would be considered undue influence in the sense of the FIFA Statutes. Consequently, the matter would then be presented to the relevant FIFA bodies for consideration and possible action, which may include the suspension of the PFF,” FIFA had stated before the elections. It repeated the same stance after the elections were held on December 12 in Islamabad.

Published in Daily Times, January 6^th 2019.