Prince Ali warns Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini not to delay

But rival contender Prince Ali bin al-Hussein warned on Wednesday that delaying the election would further discredit scandal-hit Federation Internationale de Football Association and deepen the instability. “I have only learnt through the media that Platini claims that he has a contract with FIFA”, the 85-year-old told the website Inside World Football.

Meanwhile, former FIFA secretary general Michel Zen Ruffinen has revealed he is considering running, though it is unclear whether he would fulfil the necessary criteria of having had an active role in football for two of the last five years.

No written contract for the payment, received by Platini with respect to work undertaken for Blatter, was provided to FIFA’s ethics committee, which has provisionally suspended UEFA president Platini and Blatter for 90 days pending a disciplinary hearing.

They both deny any wrongdoing and Platini maintains he will still stand for election.

The deadline for nominations for the FIFA presidency is October 26 and a formal meeting of UEFA’s 54 member associations will meet on Thursday afternoon to discuss the matter. “The election date of February 26 was set three months ago with a clear procedure that meets all of FIFA’s statutory requirements”, he added.

Prince Ali of Jordan, already a declared candidate, has called for the election to go ahead as scheduled.

A few members, including the English FA, want further clarification from Mr Platini about the circumstances in which the payment from Mr Blatter was made.

An accountable, elected president is required quickly, rather than an interim leader due to the crisis, according to the prince. The payment is also the subject of criminal proceedings by the Swiss attorney general.

Blatter was planning to stand down in February after an emergency election prompted by his decision to stun soccer on June 2 with a resignation statement following the arrest of close associates. Former Brazil global Zico and former Nigeria worldwide Segun Odegbami have both indicated they will run, but have struggled to make headway.

Now Mr Platini’s most prominent backer, he is actively considering running and would be a strong favourite to succeed Mr Blatter.

A week after receiving the resounding backing of his UEFA colleagues, Michel Platini could discover that support for him has cooled after European soccer leaders discuss the suspended president’s ethics case on Thursday.

As such, senior figures within Uefa are believed to have sounded out the possibility of Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa standing for the presidency, believing he could provide clean hands and command support from Asia, Europe and South America.

Europe looking for an alternative candidate should Platini fall on his sword.