Fifa candidate Sheikh Salman: Torture claims are 'nasty lie

[Old Master]

Fifa candidate Sheikh Salman: Torture claims are 'nasty lies'

Fifa presidential candidate Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa has called allegations he was complicit in the torture of footballers "nasty lies".

Sheikh Salman has been accused by Bahraini human rights groups of helping to identify players and other athletes involved in 2011 democracy protests.

He was head of the Bahrain Football Association and a member of the ruling royal family when security forces put down mass Shia-led protests calling for political reforms.

Several people died, while others were arrested, detained and tortured.

"I cannot deny something that I haven't done," the 49-year-old told BBC Sport.

"Such accusations are not just damaging, it's really hurting. Some people have agenda on their table."

Sheikh Salman added: "It's not just damaging me, it's damaging the people and the country.

"These are false, nasty lies that have been repeated again and again in the past and the present."

Applications to succeed Sepp Blatter as president of football's world governing body had to be submitted by 23:00 GMT on Monday.

Nic McGeehan of Human Rights Watch, told BBC Radio 5 live: "Everyone concerned with football should be extremely concerned that a member of the royal family of Bahrain is up for this post.

"This is a royal family that conducted a brutal crackdown in 2011, when security forces shot unarmed people dead in the street and tortured five people to death in custody.

"First of all it is not our role to decide who should or shouldn't be head of Fifa. These are the facts of the matter - people were tortured to death in Bahrain by the ruling family and security forces. There are clear issues about in Sheikh Salman's role in 2011.

"We are going to put the facts out there and people can decide for themselves if this man is fit to lead Fifa. The facts speak loud and clear to why this would be a very dubious choice. This is a lot worse than bungs and brown envelopes."

In an interview with the BBC's Richard Conway, Salman said:

he will not take a salary if he is elected president of Fifa
he backs the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to go ahead in Russia and Qatar respectively
accusations of human rights abuses are false and "damage Bahrain"
he supports limiting the Fifa presidency to three terms and 12 years


President of the Asian Football Confederation since 2013, Sheikh Salman vowed to clean up Fifa's reputation, which has been left in tatters following a much-publicised spate of corruption charges, which began in May when seven top officials were arrested in Zurich.

"With the support I'm going to get we're going to turn it around very quick," he said. "We have big examples of football organisations around the world - the Premier League, the Bundesliga, even Uefa - who have, from a football side and a revenue side. And this is what we want to bring to Fifa."

With seven other candidates thought to be in the running for the Fifa presidency, Salman added: "To the other candidates, they have to be realistic as well.

"Unless you are supported by your confederation it's going to be a very difficult job."

I've stopped over in Bahrain a number of times and I've always been treated badly by their Airport Guards and threatened at gunpoint on numerous times jsut because my surname sounds Jewish to them - once I was pushed to the ground and threatened with a beating until an officer stepped in. Not a Place I want to go to again! OM

[God is an Englishman]

Did they tell you they were treating you badly because they thought you were jewish?

[Victoria's Secret]

Fifa candidate Sheikh Salman: Torture claims are 'nasty lies'

Fifa presidential candidate Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa has called allegations he was complicit in the torture of footballers "nasty lies".

Sheikh Salman has been accused by Bahraini human rights groups of helping to identify players and other athletes involved in 2011 democracy protests.

He was head of the Bahrain Football Association and a member of the ruling royal family when security forces put down mass Shia-led protests calling for political reforms.

Several people died, while others were arrested, detained and tortured.

"I cannot deny something that I haven't done," the 49-year-old told BBC Sport.

"Such accusations are not just damaging, it's really hurting. Some people have agenda on their table."

Sheikh Salman added: "It's not just damaging me, it's damaging the people and the country.

"These are false, nasty lies that have been repeated again and again in the past and the present."

Applications to succeed Sepp Blatter as president of football's world governing body had to be submitted by 23:00 GMT on Monday.

Nic McGeehan of Human Rights Watch, told BBC Radio 5 live: "Everyone concerned with football should be extremely concerned that a member of the royal family of Bahrain is up for this post.

"This is a royal family that conducted a brutal crackdown in 2011, when security forces shot unarmed people dead in the street and tortured five people to death in custody.

"First of all it is not our role to decide who should or shouldn't be head of Fifa. These are the facts of the matter - people were tortured to death in Bahrain by the ruling family and security forces. There are clear issues about in Sheikh Salman's role in 2011.

"We are going to put the facts out there and people can decide for themselves if this man is fit to lead Fifa. The facts speak loud and clear to why this would be a very dubious choice. This is a lot worse than bungs and brown envelopes."

In an interview with the BBC's Richard Conway, Salman said:

he will not take a salary if he is elected president of Fifa
he backs the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to go ahead in Russia and Qatar respectively
accusations of human rights abuses are false and "damage Bahrain"
he supports limiting the Fifa presidency to three terms and 12 years


President of the Asian Football Confederation since 2013, Sheikh Salman vowed to clean up Fifa's reputation, which has been left in tatters following a much-publicised spate of corruption charges, which began in May when seven top officials were arrested in Zurich.

"With the support I'm going to get we're going to turn it around very quick," he said. "We have big examples of football organisations around the world - the Premier League, the Bundesliga, even Uefa - who have, from a football side and a revenue side. And this is what we want to bring to Fifa."

With seven other candidates thought to be in the running for the Fifa presidency, Salman added: "To the other candidates, they have to be realistic as well.

"Unless you are supported by your confederation it's going to be a very difficult job."

I've stopped over in Bahrain a number of times and I've always been treated badly by their Airport Guards and threatened at gunpoint on numerous times jsut because my surname sounds Jewish to them - once I was pushed to the ground and threatened with a beating until an officer stepped in. Not a Place I want to go to again! OM

i reckon it's because they read the rubbish your write on here - that's why I wouldn't want to go there either.

[Old Master]

Did they tell you they were treating you badly because they thought you were jewish?

Yes and they still kept harassing me when I told them I wasn't - my religion was noted as C of E.

Just the name was enough proof for them though.

[Old Master]

NNR, the feeling is mutual but at least my views are my own and formed by many years of experience.

[Victoria's Secret]

Did they tell you they were treating you badly because they thought you were jewish?

Yes and they still kept harassing me when I told them I wasn't - my religion was noted as C of E.

Just the name was enough proof for them though.

Where is your religion on your Passport?

[God is an Englishman]

Did they tell you they were treating you badly because they thought you were jewish?

Yes and they still kept harassing me when I told them I wasn't - my religion was noted as C of E.

Just the name was enough proof for them though.

I can't believe for one moment that they said "we're treating you badly because we think you're Jewish".

Why didn't you get you grenache out and prove it, it's worked for Andy McNab.

[Bomber]

Did they tell you they were treating you badly because they thought you were jewish?

Yes and they still kept harassing me when I told them I wasn't - my religion was noted as C of E.

Just the name was enough proof for them though.

I can't believe for one moment that they said "we're treating you badly because we think you're Jewish".

Why didn't you get you grenache out and prove it, it's worked for Andy McNab.

[Kim Gyu Ri]

[Old Master]

Yes and they still kept harassing me when I told them I wasn't - my religion was noted as C of E.

Just the name was enough proof for them though.[/quote]

I can't believe for one moment that they said "we're treating you badly because we think you're Jewish".

Why didn't you get you grenache out and prove it, it's worked for Andy McNab.[/quote]

[/quote]

(b) Because I was cut as a baby as was the custom where I lived.

They said it was because they suspected I was a Jewish spy - they were paranoid about it and having a gun shoved in your face and stomach gives you the impression they weren't listening to anything I said.

I wasn't the only one treated like that either - a couple of other men were subjected to similar treatment for the same reasons.

One things for certain - if I fly overseas again it won't be with any stop-overs in Muslim countries.

[Victoria's Secret]

Surley a Jewish Spy would change name? The Mossad are pretty clever.

[Bomber]

One things for certain - if I fly overseas again it won't be with any stop-overs in Muslim countries.

Do what I did in Dubai, Instanbul etc. Slap the missus a couple times and they'll respect you.

[God is an Englishman]

One things for certain - if I fly overseas again it won't be with any stop-overs in Muslim countries.

Do what I did in Dubai, Instanbul etc. Slap the missus a couple times and they'll respect you.

Or do what I did in Dubai, Malaysia, Turkey.... had a wonderful time and had a very enjoyable holiday.

[Old Master]

Surley a Jewish Spy would change name? The Mossad are pretty clever.

Unfortunately the Bahrain soldiers are not quite that intelligent!

Plus, I should have mentioned earlier that there had just been an attempted coup a couple of days before, one of many over the years.

[Victoria's Secret]

Surley a Jewish Spy would change name? The Mossad are pretty clever.

Unfortunately the Bahrain soldiers are not quite that intelligent!

Plus, I should have mentioned earlier that there had just been an attempted coup a couple of days before, one of many over the years.

you should write a book about this - it gets better

[God is an Englishman]

Surley a Jewish Spy would change name? The Mossad are pretty clever.

Unfortunately the Bahrain soldiers are not quite that intelligent!

Plus, I should have mentioned earlier that there had just been an attempted coup a couple of days before, one of many over the years.

I've been to Bahrain a few times, best mate lived there for a few years. Never had a single problem, found all the officials very tolerant and very welcoming.

[Victoria's Secret]

but you don't sound like you have Jewish Name - keep up!

[God is an Englishman]

but you don't sound like you have Jewish Name - keep up!

Yes but my friend is called - Ruben Cohen

[sephiroth]

Bahrain is the most liberal of all gulf countries - the saudis drive there on weekends to go drinking and has the biggest iranian population of any arab country. I smell BS, no, wait, it's Old Master again.

[Old Master]

Bahrain is the most liberal of all gulf countries - the saudis drive there on weekends to go drinking and has the biggest iranian population of any arab country. I smell BS, no, wait, it's Old Master again.

FFS - I did say all this happened quite a few years ago - they've probably shot everyone who looked like being capable of organising a coup by now.

I'm sorry that you are incapable of realising that everything you read/hear in the media may not be the 'Truth, the Whole Truth' you believe it to be and being so small minded that if you haven't heard of it you can't believe it when someone brings it up.

My comments are based on my own experiences of travelling the world and also playing Football, before I settled in Australia and are 100% true, so I don't really care what you think - my friends and family know everything I say is 'Gospel'.

[Old Master]

Bahrain is the most liberal of all gulf countries - the saudis drive there on weekends to go drinking and has the biggest iranian population of any arab country. I smell BS, no, wait, it's Old Master again.

FFS - I did say all this happened quite a few years ago - they've probably shot everyone who looked like being capable of organising a coup by now.

I'm sorry that you are incapable of realising that everything you read/hear in the media may not be the 'Truth, the Whole Truth' you believe it to be and being so small minded that if you haven't heard of it you can't believe it when someone brings it up.

My comments are based on my own experiences of travelling the world and also playing Football, before I settled in Australia and are 100% true, so I don't really care what you think - my friends and family know everything I say is 'Gospel'.

[God is an Englishman]

Can we get one about giants next time?

I was there 20 years ago by the way.

[Old Master]

Can we get one about giants next time?

I was there 20 years ago by the way.

I was there 40 years ago and thirty five and thirty - I did say it was a while ago things do change but impressions remain.

[GaylyColouredStumps]

I'm with old master on this one.

The opposition sounds like the the old lance armstrong defence on here where people were saying he can't be guilty because he's never had a positive drug test.

[Old Master]

I'm with old master on this one.

The opposition sounds like the the old lance armstrong defence on here where people were saying he can't be guilty because he's never had a positive drug test.

Thanks ............. I think.

[God is an Englishman]

I'm with old master on this one.

The opposition sounds like the the old lance armstrong defence on here where people were saying he can't be guilty because he's never had a positive drug test.

no one is denying the corruption, just the made up stories

[Old Master]

I'm with old master on this one.

The opposition sounds like the the old lance armstrong defence on here where people were saying he can't be guilty because he's never had a positive drug test.

no one is denying the corruption, just the made up stories

My 'stories' are not made up - they are as true as I claim them to be - if you can't accept the truth then you are the one with the problem - not me.

[God is an Englishman]

My 'stories' are not made up - they are as true as I claim them to be - if you can't accept the truth then you are the one with the problem - not me.

If you say so

[Old Master]

My 'stories' are not made up - they are as true as I claim them to be - if you can't accept the truth then you are the one with the problem - not me.

If you say so

Do I ever question the truth of anything you write?

The answer to that is NO!

And the reason is that I know that 'Truth is Stranger Than Fiction' and that very few people ever see the world through the same two eyes.

Kindly extend the same courtesy to me and everyone else rather than being a pain in the backside and accusing them of lying just because you didn't experience something the same way they did.

Surely that's not too much to ask?

Even for you.

[God is an Englishman]

Very defensive - especially when my last response was "if you say so".