Fifa’s decision to disband anti-racism task force branded “shameful” by former vice-president Prince Ali
Former Fifa vice-president Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan has rebuked the decision of the world governing body to disband its anti-racism task force.
Fifa’s decision was communicated to members of the task force over the weekend and confirmed by the organisation’s new secretary general Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura at the Soccerex conference in Manchester yesterday.
Prince Ali, who twice ran unsuccessfully for the Fifa presidency, said: “The announcement that Fifa is disbanding it’s anti-racism task force, considering its work done, is incredibly worrying.
“The fight against racism is far from over and the notion that the current Fifa leadership believes the ‘task force’s recommendations have been implemented’ is shameful.
“Never has the need to combat racism and racial discrimination been more evident than it is in the world we live in today. It is not something that any governing body with any semblance of responsibility can downplay or deny.”
The task force was established by former Fifa president Sepp Blatter in 2013 and was chaired by vice-president Jeffrey Webb until his arrest on corruption charges last year. He was replaced by Fifa council member Constant Omari.
Samoura said: “The task force had a very specific mandate that to our knowledge it has fully fulfilled. It’s recommendations have now been turned into a programme and a strong one.
“We can live with perceptions, but we are taking very seriously our role as the world governing body of football to fight discrimination.”