Blatter must go says Platini

(MENAFN- Arab News) PARIS: UEFA President Michel Platini has thrown his weight behind Jordan's Prince Ali bin al Hussein in his bid to unseat Sepp Blatter as the head of football's world governing body FIFA.
In an interview on Monday with L'Equipe newspaper the French midfield legend turned football administrator said that Blatter had lied to him four years ago when saying that his current fourth mandate would be his last.
'He asked us face to face to support him for what would be his last mandate' said Platini a former ally of Blatter who has increasingly turned against the Swiss chief.
'I have the disagreeable feeling of having proffered my support on the basis of a lie.
'You have to be capable of handing over the levers of power at the right time and not be guilty of holding on to it at any cost.
'He (Blatter) is not staying on because he has a job to complete or because he still has some big projects to carry out for FIFA. No he simply is scared of what the future holds for him having consecrated his life to FIFA to the point that he identifies himself totally with it.'
Platini said that he believed that it was the right time for new blood to be brought in and that Prince Ali was the best man for the job.
The Jordanian is the sole remaining candidate left in the contest for the FIFA presidency which will be decided in Zurich on Friday following last week's withdrawals of Portugal great Luis Figo and Dutch administrator Michael van Praag.
He has garnered support from several quarters but Blatter is still seen as a strong favorite to win a fifth term despite growing reservations about his way of running one of the most powerful bodies in world sport.
The latest broadside against him came from Argentine legend Diego Maradona who told the Daily Telegraph that a fifth term for Blatter would be 'an adsurdity.'
'Under Sepp Blatter FIFA has become a disgrace and a painful embarrassment to those of us who care about football deeply' the 1986 World Cup winner said.
The election takes place at the FIFA Congress in Zurich on Friday with the winner needing a majority from FIFA's 209 member federations.
Blatter has received strong public backing from nearly every regional confederation except UEFA in Europe.
But the football strongman's fourth term has been overshadowed by controversy not least over the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar drawing cries of protest from various people
Prince Ali bin al Hussein on Monday accused Blatter of leading an administration of waste that ignores ethics as he stepped up a leadership battle ahead of a vote this week.

Israel appeals

The Israel Football Association appealed to Platini on Friday to speak out 'loud and clear' against the Palestinian bid to vote the IFA out of FIFA next week.
The annual FIFA Congress which begins on May 28 includes the Palestinian Football Association's proposal to suspend the IFA from world football.
IFA president Ofer Eini told Platini in a letter that FIFA had twice refused his request to have the Palestinian bid removed from the Congress agenda mentioning FIFA's own attempts to have the item struck.
'IFA is facing one of its most crucial situations since it was established in the year 1928 finding ourselves in the need to defend ourselves against a proposal which is totally political and has nothing to do with the objectives of FIFA and the spirit of football' Eini wrote.
Blatter failed to convince the Palestinians to remove their proposal which he objects to during a visit to the region which ended on Wednesday.
The PFA says Israel imposes restrictions on the freedom of movement of their players and protests the existence of five Israeli teams in settlements built on land they want for a future state.
The IFA says it has no say over the security issues which can cause difficulties in players' travel within and from the West Bank calling the Palestinian bid an unsportsmanlike attempt to mix politics with sports.
Israel told Blatter it would set up mechanisms to ease the movement of footballers and set up a working group to monitor the situation.
'The time has come now for UEFA to raise its voice loud and clear against this proposal' said Eini whose IFA is part of UEFA.