Football: Dyke unsure over Sheikh Salman Fifa bid

Fifa presidential candidate Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa (left) and Fifa's suspended president Sepp Blatter.


PHOTO: REUTERS/AFP

LONDON (AFP) - English Football Association chairman Greg Dyke has cast doubt over Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa's bid to succeed Sepp Blatter as Fifa president.

Dyke believes Sheikh Salman must come clean about his role in human rights violations which followed the pro-democracy demonstrations in Bahrain in 2011.

Sheikh Salman, who is the bookmakers' favourite to replace the disgraced Blatter at the election later this month, has repeatedly avoided questioning over the issue.

He was one of the first candidates to withdraw from a proposed 'New Fifa Now' forum in Brussels last month, but continues to insist he has no 'skeletons in the closet'.

Speaking on the BBC on Monday, Dyke said: "I think there is an issue about Bahrain.

"No-one denies that there were violations of human rights involving sportsmen and footballers that went on four years ago - no-one denies that. The denial is over whether or not he was involved.

"The question is, does it matter whether or not he was involved, or is it the fact, can you have someone from Bahrain running world football, in charge of world football, given what happened there four years ago? I personally have my doubts."

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