ASUNCION: FIFA president Sepp Blatter has insisted that the world football federation will not accept the decision by the Egyptian government to suspend the country’s football asssociation board.
The suspension was ordered by Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal Al-Ganzouri less than 24 hours the Port Said disaster in which 74 Al-Ahly fans died after a game against Al-Masry.
FIFA statutes prohibit government interference into national association affairs. Egypt, on top of all its other problems, thus risks international suspension which would affect the national team’s entry into the African Nations qualifiers at the end of this month.
Blatter, attending an extraordinary congress of the South American football confederation in the Paraguay capital, said the EFA’s suspension after Wednesday’s violence was a direct intervention into football affairs which FIFA could not accept.
He said: “The information we have received at FIFA confirms the number of dead as 74. It was also confirmed that the Egyptian government intervened directly by suspending the football association. We are going to take up the case from tomorrow so that this association is reinstated because it is the that has the responsibility to organise the competitions and it must carry on its work.”