Greg Dyke questions FIFA presidential election timing

By Jack Prescott, Rugby Editor | 27 May 2015

FA chairman Greg Dyke asks whether the FIFA presidential election should still take place following the arrests of several officials on corruption charges.

Football Association chairman Greg Dyke has questioned whether the FIFA presidential election should go ahead following the arrests of several officials on corruption charges.

The officials were arrested in Zurich on Wednesday morning by US authorities for alleged racketeering, money laundering and wire fraud.

A separate corruption investigation has been opened by Swiss prosecutors into the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which are due to be held in Russia and Qatar respectively.

Despite the latest developments surrounding FIFA, world football's governing body has confirmed that Friday's presidential election is still expected to go ahead. Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein is the sole challenger to current president Sepp Blatter.

"We should stress this morning's developments are very serious for FIFA and its current leadership," FA chief Dyke said in an official statement.

"As one of the associations who nominated Prince Ali it will not surprise you to learn that if the election for president goes ahead The FA will be voting for him. However, there must be a question mark over whether the election should take place in these circumstances.

"Clearly things are changing very quickly and our delegation to the FIFA congress in Zurich, which I am leading, will discuss the position and what we should do about it with our colleagues in UEFA when we meet tomorrow morning."

FIFA director of information and public affairs Walter De Gregorio confirmed on Wednesday that the 2018 and 2022 World Cups would also go ahead despite the separate investigation into the awarding of the tournaments.