Corruption scandal: Blatter refused to quit as FIFA president
Defying calls to quit, Sepp Blatter has confirmed his
decision to seek a fifth term as the president of global football's governing
FIFA in Friday's election, despite the corruption scandal that hit the world football governing body.
Speaking at the opening of the FIFA Congress in Zurich on
Thursday, Blatter called the scandal "unprecedented and difficult"
but refused to step down despite being asked to do so by Michel Platini, president
of European football's governing body UEFA, reports Al Jazeera.
Blatter's public absence
Blatter's remarks were the first since the arrests of
high-ranking FIFA officials for corruption and bribery on Wednesday in Zurich,
with separate investigations launched in the US and Switzerland.
"The events of yesterday have cast a long shadow over
football and over this week's congress," Blatter said.
"These are unprecedented and difficult times for FIFA.
The actions of individuals have proven to bring shame and humiliation on
football and demand action and change from us all.
"We can't allow the reputation of football and FIFA to
be dragged through the mud any longer. It has to be stopped once and for all.
Let this be the turning point."
FIFA's 209 members will vote in Friday's elections, with a
two-thirds majority needed to win on the first ballot.
If that does not happen, then a straight majority is
required to win a second ballot.
Platini's remarks
Platini delivered an emotional performance earlier in the
day when he said it was time for FIFA's 79-year-old Swiss head to quit.
His remarks came after a majority of UEFA's member
associations said they would vote for Jordan's Prince Ali bin Al Hussein as the
next FIFA president in Friday's elections.
"I have affection for Mr Blatter, and he always said he
was like an uncle to me but enough is enough," Platini said.
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"If I cannot tell him it is time to stop then who can?
A true friend can tell another friend the reality."
Platini said that during Thursday's emergency meeting, he
asked Blatter to step down.
"I said, 'I'm asking you to leave, FIFA's image is
terrible'," Platini said.
"He said that he couldn't leave all of a sudden.
"I'm saying this with sadness and tears in my eyes, but
there have been too many scandals. FIFA doesn't deserve to be treated this
way."
Platini hoped that 45 or 46 of Europe's eligible 53 voting
nations would vote for Ali.
"Prince Ali has all the legitimacy he needs - he is
young, he is ambitious and that is why I support him," Platini said.
"He can do some good, he can change things, he doesn't
need money because he is a prince.
"A very large majority of national associations from
Europe will vote for Prince Ali, and if they are to be trusted, I believe he
will get 45 or 46 votes from Europe. I'm trying to convince a couple who are
not convinced."
Those votes would not be enough to topple Blatter but would
send a strong signal of disapproval.
'Enough is enough'
Asked if he realistically believed that Blatter could lose
the vote, Platini replied: "I think he can be beaten, yes. Before
yesterday no, but after what happened yesterday, yes. Enough is enough. I think
there will be a lot of changes."
Blatter's leadership has gained a strong ally, however, in
the form of Vladimir Putin, with the Russian president calling the developments
"an attempt to block the re-election of Blatter as president of
FIFA".
"This is an extremely serious breach of the principles
of how international organisations work," Putin said in televised comments
broadcast on Thursday.
"This is yet another blatant attempt [by the US] to
extend its jurisdiction to other states."
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