ZURICH: FIFA is discussing delaying the election for their next president following the suspensions given to Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, two sources have told Reuters.

The issue is expected to be on the agenda of an emergency executive committee meeting which could make the decision to postpone the vote, scheduled for Feb 26, the sources, with knowledge of the discussions, said on Friday.

FIFA said on Friday a decision whether to hold an emergency executive meeting would likely be made next week.

A spokesman for England’s Football Association said they would ask FIFA’s acting general secretary Markus Kattner to organise such a meeting to discuss the election.

UEFA’s 54 member associations are gathering on Thursday at their headquarters in Nyon where the topic of the election will also be on the agenda, the FA spokesman said.

UEFA president Platini was an early favourite to win the vote to replace Blatter at the helm of FIFA before he was given a 90 day suspension by FIFA’s Ethics Committee on Thursday. A further 45 days can be added to the provisional ban.

Switzerland’s Attorney General said Platini is being considered somewhere “between a witness and an accused person” in the case.

Currently, the election nominations need to be provided by Oct 26 but a change in the date of the vote could see that deadline move.

“For the time being the schedule is as it is,” a FIFA spokesperson told Reuters, adding that only the executive committee had the power to make a decision on the election date.

The FIFA spokesperson did not want to speculate further on the matter.

It remains to be seen whether a majority of the executive committee would back postponing the vote.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2015

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