|
 Salman, answering questions in an interview published in the Zurich
daily Tages-Anzeiger on Saturday, also denied accusations that he
used funds from the Bahrain football association he headed at the
time to win a FIFA executive committee seat.
"FIFA has always been in Zurich," he said when asked how often he, a
Bahraini, would be in the city if he succeeded Swiss-born Blatter.
"I see no reason to change that ... I will be in Zurich as often as
needed."
He also had no plans to change the scandal-ridden FIFA's name. "It's
the work that must change, not the name," he said. "We need zero
tolerance against misconduct, fraud and corruption."
Salman said he was paying out of his own pocket for his campaign to
succeed Sepp Blatter, the disgraced FIFA president now banned from
all football-related activity for ethics violations. Blatter has
denied any wrongdoing.
He financed his campaigns for the FIFA executive committee seat in
2009 and presidency of the Asian soccer body in 2013 by himself,
Salman said, and allegations of misusing funds were "a smear
campaign".
[to top of second column] |
Asked if Blatter could attend a FIFA congress to elect his successor
on Feb. 26 despite the ban against him, he said: "I respect the FIFA
rules. If they say banned officials cannot take part, then that's
the way it is. The rules are for everyone."
The other election candidates are UEFA interim chief Gianni
Infantino, ex-FIFA executive committee member Prince Ali Bin Al
Hussein, former FIFA deputy general secretary Jerome Champagne and
South African Tokyo Sexwale.
(Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
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