The El Salvador government has responded to a FIFA warning that the country’s World Cup refereeing team will be removed from the tournament if a dispute with soccer officials is not resolved.
The El Salvador National Assembly agreed on Thursday to give two-month recognition to the regulatory commission of El Salvador’s soccer federation, on the understanding the federation would use the time to name a new commission.
Legislator Rafael Paz of the Grand National Alliance said “they have two months to call a general assembly and name new authorities to the commission.”
El Salvador was banned on Tuesday by FIFA after its government refused to recognize the authorities set up to run soccer affairs.
FIFA rules prohibit politicians from interfering in the election of officials to run the sport.
FIFA said on Wednesday that the country’s team of referees — Joel Antonio Aguilar and assistants William Torres and Francisco Zumba — would be barred under the terms of the country’s suspension from world soccer because of political interference, but Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes said on Thursday the government “will work hand in hand with the Salvadoran football federation so that we can reverse this sanction and protect the nation’s football.”
Earlier, FIFA had given the government a June 8 deadline to back down.
“If the Salvadoran authorities do not revise their position ... the FIFA executive committee will be obliged to propose to the FIFA Congress that [the El Salvador federation] be suspended,” soccer’s world governing body said in a statement.
The FIFA Congress of 208 nations meets in Johannesburg the next day and can ban El Salvador for one year.
“If the congress upholds this proposal, it will not be possible to lift the suspension until the next FIFA Congress in June 2011,” FIFA warned.
The World Cup opens on June 11.
It was not clear if Thursday’s statements were sufficient to get the ban lifted.
El Salvador did not qualify, but is one of only 28 nations that are supplying the 30 referees chosen to take charge of matches.
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