Sepp Blatter rocked the world of soccer on Tuesday by
unexpectedly quitting as FIFA president in the face of a corruption
investigation that has plunged the game's governing body into the worst crisis
in its history.
Blatter, 79, announced the decision at a hastily arranged
news conference in Zurich, six days after police raided a hotel in Zurich and
arrested several FIFA officials and just four days after he was re-elected to a
fifth term as president.
Blatter said an election to choose a new president for the
deeply troubled organization would be held as soon as possible. A FIFA official
said that could happen any time from December this year to March of next year.
"FIFA needs profound restructuring," said Blatter,
a Swiss national who has been a dominating presence at FIFA for decades.
"I have thoroughly considered my presidency and thought
about my presidency and the last 40 years of my life," Blatter, speaking
in French, told the news conference.
"I decided to stand again to be elected because I was
convinced it was the best option for football.
"Although the members of FIFA gave me a new mandate,
this mandate does not seem to be supported by everyone in the world."
Blatter's decision was immediately welcomed by his most
prominent critics.
European football federation chief Michel Platini, a French
former international soccer star, said: "It was a difficult decision, a
brave decision, and the right decision."
Greg Dyke, chairman of the English Football Association,
said it was "good news for world football". He then asked: "Who
got him? Who shot him? What happened between then (when he was elected) and
now?"
FIFA, which Blatter had ruled since 1998, was left reeling
this week by the announcement of a U.S. investigation into alleged widespread
financial wrongdoing stretching back for more than two decades.
Swiss authorities also mounted their own criminal probe into
the award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, respectively.
The U.S. Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn had no immediate
comment.
The office of the Swiss Attorney General, which is
investigating alleged criminal mismanagement and money laundering at FIFA, said
Blatter's resignation would have no effect on its proceedings. It said Blatter
himself was not subject to investigation.
While Blatter was not mentioned in either the U.S. or Swiss
investigations, there had been widespread calls for him to quit, mostly from
Western nations. Some major sponsors also expressed misgivings about the impact
of the scandal.
SCANDAL INTENSIFIES
The European Commission's spokeswoman for sport, Nathalie
Vandystadt, said: "This is an important step but a lot of work remains. We
now expect a long process of change that is needed to restore trust and set up
a solid system of good governance at FIFA."
Blatter had initially attempted to bat away the furore,
relying on his extensive network of friends to hold on to power at FIFA.
Football associations in Africa and Asia had stood by him
despite the scandal, saying they welcomed the FIFA funds he channeled to them
for the development of the game in impoverished parts of the world.
The investigation however closed in on Blatter on Tuesday,
when FIFA was forced to deny that his right-hand man, Secretary-General Jerome
Valcke, was implicated in a $10 million payment that lies at the heart of the
U.S. case.
But at the same time, a letter addressed to Valcke from the
South African Football Association was published outlining the transaction.
Blatter became FIFA secretary general in 1981 and president
17 years later.
He survived a series of scandals including widespread
accusations that Qatar bought the right to stage the 2022 World Cup in a
country with little football history and where summer temperatures regularly
top 40 degrees Celsius (104 F). Qatar has always denied any wrongdoing.
Despite calls for Blatter's resignation after what was
described as the worst day in FIFA's history last Wednesday, when seven serving
officials were arrested on bribery charges two days before the body's 2015
election, he told delegates then: "Football needs a strong and experienced
leader. One that knows all the ins and outs and can work with our
partners".
Overcoming opposition from European soccer's governing body
UEFA, which threatened at one point to boycott the Congress, he was elected for
another four years. His fifth term lasted just four days.
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