THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD — Men in military-style uniforms raided the office of the Iraqi Football Association ahead of its meeting this weekend to elect new leadership, an association member said Monday.
The raid by unidentified men is the latest problem to befall the beleaguered federation, which was suspended last year by FIFA for political meddling in the association’s affairs. The suspension was lifted in March.
A member of the Iraqi Football Association said men in military-style uniforms and driving Humvees appeared at the federation’s offices Sunday and displayed arrest warrants for senior soccer officials, including Hussein Saeed, one of the main candidates for the association’s presidency.
It was not immediately clear whether Saeed was at the office during the raid, but he was not arrested.
The raid comes as members of the association are set to meet in the Kurdish city of Irbil on Saturday to choose a new president.
It was unclear whether the raid was actually an attempt to serve arrest warrants and, if so, on what charges and by which law enforcement agency. It also wasn’t clear whether it was an attempt to intimidate some members of the federation ahead of Saturday’s vote.
An official with the Interior Ministry who oversees the area where the raid occurred said he had no idea where the men were from. A spokesman for the Justice Ministry did not respond to phone calls.
The football association official said the organization decided to suspend work in the office as a result of the raid and delay all tournaments and matches until further notice.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.