Prince Ali calls for suspension of FIFA elections

Prince Ali bin al-Hussein has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to have Friday’s FIFA presidential elections suspended.

The Jordanian prince, one of the five candidates to succeed Sepp Blatter at the head of football’s governing body, had seen a request for transparent voting booths to be used at the congress in Zurich rejected by the election commission.

“FIFA opposed our request for an accelerated procedure so that these questions could be decided before February 26,” a statement issued by his legal team read.

“It was therefore natural that Prince Ali goes to the CAS.”

It is understood the appeal was lodged on Monday.

Ali’s request for the transparent booths was made as part of a commitment to increased transparency in FIFA proceedings, following the corruption investigations which have blighted the organisation in the past year.

The 40-year-old is due to stand against Sheikh Salman, Gianni Infantino, Tokyo Sexwale and Jerome Champagne in the FIFA elections.