Pakistan has been suspended from international football by FIFA due to “undue third-party interference” in the country’s football federation (PFF).
FIFA said in a statement that the suspension would prevent Pakistani teams, including the national side, from playing in international competitions and the PFF from benefiting from FIFA development and training programmes.
“The PFF offices and its accounts remain in control of a court-appointed administrator, which constitutes a violation of the PFF obligations to manage its affairs independently and without influence from any third parties in accordance with the FIFA Statutes,” said FIFA.
“The suspension will be lifted once the PFF offices and access to the PFF accounts are returned to the PFF.”
The election of Faisal Saleh Hayat as the federation’s president in 2015 lead subsequent allegations of vote-rigging.
In a bid to fix the issue, a high court-appointed administrator took over the running of PFF, which is considered as the violation of FIFA statutes regarding political interference.