FIFA candidate denies role in punishing protesting athletes

By Simon Evans WASHINGTON (Reuters) - FIFA presidential candidate Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa denied on Thursday he had ever been involved in investigating and prosecuting athletes active in Bahrain's democracy protests in 2011. Britain's Guardian newspaper cited on Tuesday a 2011 Bahrain News Agency article stating that Salman, who is now president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), had been appointed to "lead the investigation committee". Since announcing on Monday that he wil