KUALA LUMPUR: New Asian soccer chief Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa will make introducing an ethics committee a top priority as the Bahraini attempts to bring about sweeping reform at the scandal- hit Asian Football Confederation.
The new football boss backed FIFA chief Sepp Blatter for a controversial fifth term as the veteran Swiss dropped a strong hint that he may break promises to step down in 2015.
Just 24 hours before Sheikh Salman claimed a landslide election win on Thursday, the AFC suffered more embarrassing headlines with Sri Lankan Vernon Manilal Fernando banned for eight years by FIFA for unethical behavior.
Sheikh Salman said the introduction of a new body to tackle the problems was an essential part in pushing through his transparency manifesto.
“If there are any wrongdoings by some, there has to be a tool to have a watchdog on everybody including the president,” Sheikh Salman said hours after hosting his first AFC Congress.
“I think this can be done in the next two years and hopefully we will do it, by the end of the year we will have to have something up and running.
“It is disappointing that we haven’t created an ethics committee to look at these matters to have a proper mechanism to tackle these things and I think FIFA will support us on that.” The married father of three takes over the AFC at a difficult time with the body suffering bribery issues amongst members, allegations of age cheating in Southeast Asian competitions, violence on the field, referee abuse in Lebanon and player deaths in Indonesia.
But undoubtedly the biggest problem is match-fixing, with cases rife in nations big and small including China, South Korea, Malaysia, Lebanon and Singapore.
“I think we need, whether it is a task force, a committee or a team, to look into these matters and see what the proper matters are to fight it and hopefully with the support of FIFA and the local governments as well,” the 47-year-old said.
“I don’t think it can be done on our own. There are a lot of resources that are going to be put into that. It is a responsibility for all — not just the AFC.” Sheikh Salman will initially serve two years rather than the normal four because he is effectively replacing former leader Mohammed Bin Hammam who was dismissed by FIFA for bribery and corruption halfway through what was the Qatari’s third term.
