Sheikh Salman slams dirty lies

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MANAMA, Bahrain, Nov 14, (AP): Sheikh Salman running for FIFA president hit back at human rights groups who have accused him of helping authorities arrest footballers for protesting against the country’s ruling monarchy, calling the allegations “dirty tricks and dirty lies.” In an interview with The Associated Press, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa insisted he played no part in helping identify the footballers who took part in protests in 2011, denouncing the accusations as politically motivated.

Sheikh Salman’s role in that investigation has dominated the public debate around the start of his campaign to succeed Sepp Blatter in the Feb 26 election. “It’s damaging because it is hurts and it really gets to your guts because you hear things that are way beyond any reality,” the Asian Football Confederation president said during an hour-long interview in the Bahraini capital Manama. “Unfortunately I have been used as tool just for a purpose which is a political one … in elections you always see dirty tricks and dirty lies.”

Bahrain continues to witness a crackdown against low-level dissent and unrest. The accusations against Sheikh Salman relate to the start of the Arab Spring-inspired protests in 2011 dominated by Bahrain’s Shiite majority seeking greater political rights from the Sunni monarchy in the tiny island kingdom.More than 150 athletes and sports officials were detained in the protests, and some claimed they were tortured by government forces.

Rights groups complained to FIFA that Sheikh Salman, who was head of the Bahraini football federation at the time, had a role in identifying players who took part in the protests and were later arrested. “All I can say to them is that they either got the wrong guy and the wrong name or I’m sorry to say they are creating nasty lies about something they want to use for their purpose,” Sheikh Salman said.

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