Jordan FA chief accuses FIFA’s Infantino of ‘blackmail’ over endorsement

Fallout from failed FIFA World Cup selloff continues, as Jordan’s football association president joins list of Gianni Infantino detractors.Jordan-football-association" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="178328" data-entity-type="organization">Jordan Football Association President Ali ‌bin Hussein has launched a public attack on Gianni Infantino, accusing the FIFA president of “blackmail” and claiming FIFA ⁠offered to help solve the kingdom’s problems in exchange for his endorsement.Bin Hussein alleged on Tuesday that FIFA verbally communicated during the World Cup that endorsing Infantino “would go a long ⁠way to helping our FA out” after months of the world football governing body refusing assistance on various matters.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4UEFA’s threatened legal action against Infantino and FIFA: What we knowlist 2 of 4Infantino’s FIFA World Cup fallout heads to mutiny as more staff break ranklist 3 of 4Ex-Arsenal boss Wenger was ‘not aware’ of Infantino’s FIFA planlist 4 of 4UEFA confirms legal letter served to FIFA after Infantino’s World Cup planend of list“We pride ourselves in Jordan in upholding ethical values. We did not endorse him before and ⁠certainly will not now,” Bin Hussein, a former FIFA vice president, alleged in a post on the social media platform X.“But the whole situation amounts to blackmail and we refuse to give in to that.”Al Jazeera has contacted FIFA for comment on all allegations.Bin Hussein’s rebuke comes as Infantino faces growing opposition within football’s hierarchy after the FIFA president was forced to abandon a controversial proposal to ‌sell off a stake in the World Cup.Football confederations and national associations rejected the idea following a hard September 19 deadline imposed by the Swiss official.FIFA had argued that selling the minority stake in its commercial operations would raise billions of dollars to fund global sports development.UEFA confirmed to Al Jazeera on Tuesday that they have served a document preservation letter to FIFA, following the failed World Cup sell.FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom and Arsene Wenger were among executives who distanced themselves from Infantino, with Bin Hussein saying there was a problem with the leadership.