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Prince Ali pushes FIFA bid after rival Platini is questioned

Prince Ali pushes FIFA bid after rival Platini is questioned

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - In this May 29, 2015 file photo FIFA president Joseph S. Blatter, right, walks past Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, left, and UEFA President Michel Platini, center, during the 65th FIFA Congress held at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland. On Friday, Sept. 25, 2015 Swiss attorney general opened criminal proceedings against FIFA President Sepp Blatter. (Walter Bieri/Keystone via AP)

ZURICH: A day after UEFA President Michel Platini was questioned by Swiss authorities over a FIFA payment, presidential election rival Prince Ali bin al-Hussein touted himself as the safe choice to rid the governing body of corruption. In a statement Saturday, the prince says national federations should not be 'worrying about the next scandal or criminal investigation involving FIFA leadership.' The Jordanian prince is Platini's main rival in a February election to replace Sepp Blatter, who became a formal subject of a criminal investigation into football corruption on Friday. Blatter was questioned over a 2011 payment of 2 million Swiss francs (about $2 million) to Platini for work carried out at least nine years earlier. Platini, who was questioned as a witness, denies wrongdoing.