The sole opposition candidate to Sepp Blatter in Fifa’s presidential election, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, has contacted the police after his campaign team was approached by an individual who claimed to be able to secure him the backing of 47 of the 209 votes in Friday’s election.

The prince’s team claims the individual also said he could provide information regarding Blatter’s financial activities, which, it said, “appeared to be illegally obtained”.

The person’s identity has not been revealed, but he is not a Fifa employee, nor does he have any formal connections to any of Fifa’s national federations.

“Our goal was not to create a campaign issue but to properly react to an approach made to us that appeared to involve criminal activity,” Prince Ali’s team said. “The campaign did not want to do anything that could jeopardise the police investigation.”

Key players in the Qatar World Cup bid controversy Show all 5 1 /5 Key players in the Qatar World Cup bid controversy Key players in the Qatar World Cup bid controversy Mohammed bin Hammam The Qatari was the Asian Football Confederation president at the time of the 2010 vote. The Sunday Times alleged that documents showed he made payments to officials as part of a campaign to win support for the 2022 World Cup bid. He insisted he had no “official or unofficial” role with the bid. Fifa imposed a second life ban on him in December 2012, after his decision to quit all his football roles. This came after the Fifa ethics committee investigation found him guilty of “repeated violations” of the ethics code on conflicts of interest, while he was AFC president and while a member of the Fifa Exco between 2008-2011. AP Key players in the Qatar World Cup bid controversy Jack Warner The Trinidad & Tobago politician was forced to resign as a Fifa vice-president in 2011, after he and Bin Hammam were alleged to have paid bribes of £600,000 to Caribbean associations. He is also alleged to have helped Bin Hammam bribe Caribbean officials in return for support in his aim to oust Sepp Blatter. Getty Images Key players in the Qatar World Cup bid controversy Sepp Blatter The long-standing Fifa president oversaw the bidding process to award Qatar the World Cup. Has since admitted awarding Qatar the cup was “a mistake”. He set up an executive committee task force to look into the World Cup in Qatar being moved to the winter because of the extreme summer temperature. Getty Key players in the Qatar World Cup bid controversy Lord Triesman Former FA chairman. Alleged that, in exchange for voting for England to host the World Cup, Warner asked for money to build an education centre in Trinidad and to buy World Cup television rights for Haiti, and that Paraguay’s Nicolas Leoz asked for an honorary knighthood in exchange for their votes. Getty Images Key players in the Qatar World Cup bid controversy Michael Garcia Former New York district attorney Michael Garcia was named Fifa’s chief independent ethics investigator. He spent a year investigating the organisation, and delivered a 350-page report on the 2018 and 2022 bidding processes in September. Called for greater transparency and culture change in Fifa. Getty Images

The prince’s team added the matter had been passed to Quest, a corporate intelligence firm based in the UK set up by Lord Stevens, the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, who has led an inquiry into football corruption. It was Quest’s decision to inform the police, not Fifa’s own ethics committee.

“Because the claims made by the individual strongly suggested criminal acts, Quest referred the matter to the proper law enforcement authorities,” Prince Ali’s team said. “We did not engage the Fifa ethics committee because the individuals concerned were third parties who were not part of Fifa, nor were they national association representatives. Prince Ali’s campaign has not received any offers involving questionable behaviour or potential illegalities from Fifa member associations or individuals claiming to act on their behalf.”