Updated on
Summary EFA's suspension after Wednesday's violence was a direct intervention into soccer affairs.
FIFA will take steps to reinstate Egypts Football Association (EFA), suspended by Cairoafter 74 people died in violence at a match in Port Said, FIFA chief Sepp Blatter said on Sunday.Blatter, attending an extraordinary congress of the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) at its Paraguay headquarters, said the EFAs suspension after Wednesdaysviolence was a direct intervention into soccer affairs which FIFA could not accept.The information we have received at FIFA confirms thenumber of dead as 74. It was also confirmed that the (Egyptian)government intervened directly by suspending the footballassociation, Blatter told a news conference.We are going to take up the case from tomorrow (Monday) sothat this association is reinstated because it is the (body)that has the responsibility to organise the competitions and itmust carry on (its work), the president of world soccersgoverning body said.The incident, when fans invaded the pitch in Port Said afterhome team al-Masry beat Cairo giants al-Ahli, was Egypts worstsoccer disaster and Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri sacked theEFA board.It was also the incident with the highest number of victimsin Egypt since an uprising brought down the government of HosniMubarak early last year.Most of the deaths were among people trampled in the crushof the panicking crowd. Demonstrators who staged anti-governmentprotests after the incident blamed the countrys militaryauthorities.FIFAs number one objective is to protect football, protectthe association and naturally ensure these situations are notrepeated, Blatter said.But we also need a police (force) or army because infootball we dont have the power to intervene directly.The Conmebol congress attended by Blatter decided to modifyits statutes to reduce the intervention of regional governmentsin football affairs.Its president, Paraguayan Nicolas Leoz, recalled the case in2008 when FIFA suspended Peru from all football after thePeruvian government declared the re-election of the countrysfootball federation president Manuel Burga illegal because ofallegations of corruption.We have had problems in some South American countriesbecause some governments have become involved in issues that areexclusively for the sporting authorities. The new statutefollows clear FIFA laws on this matter, Leoz said.Blatter also said he was confident Brazil would be ready ontime to stage the 2014 World cup finals.One matter we have (pending) is to obtain all theguarantees from the political authorities. We still lack someguarantees but at the end of March we will have everything andIm sure Brazil will organise a great World Cup, he said.
