Fifa and Infantino at centre of escalating row among Asian football chiefs

The war of words in Asian football over the future of Fifa president Gianni Infantino has escalated further after regional chiefs turned on critic Prince Ali bin Hussein of Jordan. Asia has become a key battleground for Infantino as he looks to extend his decade-long tenure at next year’s elections despite a widespread backlash to his World Cup sell-off plan. The Asian Football Confederation initially aligned itself with European and North American calls for change at the top of Fifa but last week performed a U-turn and backed Infantino. Prince Ali, who ran against Infantino in 2016, called out AFC boss Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa in a social media post on Sunday, disputing that Asia was united behind Infantino. He added that “nobody was allowed to speak, question, debate or talk with the media” at the recent AFC congress and that “no amount of coercion, threats or bribes should be allowed”. The AFC has hit back at those claims and warned that Prince Ali, head o