FIFA

Only Champagne presents to EU Parliament

Slap in the face for the EU Parliament: Only one of the five candidates for the FIFA Präsidentschaftsamt answer questions. The MEPs values as an “own goal”. The missing candidates are aware of any guilt.

Frenchman Jerome Champagne presented to the informal sports Committee of the European Parliament in Brussels his program, he should be in just over a month in Zurich to the boss of the football world Federation will be elected. It repeated the 57-Year-old some of his Central concerns, among other things, more transparency and more women in Higher. So he appeared as one of the
five Präsidentschaftsanwärter.

Actually, that was in Parliament a debate of several candidates have been planned. Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein from Jordan and the South African Tokyo Sexwale said their participation, however, in the short term. The debate could be against FIFA rules, told Ali. Also had one of the two remaining, and at the same time most promising candidates, UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino and Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al Chalifa from Bahrain to file a complaint against the planned discussion inserted.

The Cancellations were from the MEPs been severely criticized. “This is a really bad Signal. This shows the old FIFA”, said the Belgian Ivo Belet, since 2004 a member of Parliament. The Briton Emma McClarkin spoke of an “own goal” of the four candidates and an “own goal for FIFA. We are deeply disappointed”.

og (sid, dpa)