Sepp Blatter's resignation ends crazy week in football

Zurich: Police calmly entered a Zurich hotel last Wednesday to arrest seven FIFA barons and spark a raucous week in football’s history that ended with football leader Sepp Blatter serenely announcing he will quit.

“Unbelievable,” was the reaction of one FIFA executive member who requested anonymity. Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, also an executive member, said the decision was a “complete surprise.”

The 6:00am raid, by police acting on a request by US authorities, highlighted divisions that have marked Blatter’s 17 years in charge of the world’s most popular sport.

At the same time, Swiss police were at FIFA headquarters seizing documents for their inquiry into the controversial awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar.

It added fuel to the fire for his opponents, who increased their calls for Blatter to stand down for failing to control what US authorities called “rampant” corruption.

Blatter and his supporters questioned the timing of the hotel raid as a possible bid to influence his reelection. He said there was a European “hate” campaign.

The Swiss official supported his suspicions by saying “curiously” there were three US journalists waiting in the hotel as the two FIFA vice presidents and other officials were led away.

Blatter and his lieutenants battened down the hatches in the hours after the arrest, concentrating on mustering support for the FIFA election in two days time.

A showdown followed a day later at his first meeting with the heads of regional confederations – minus Jeffrey Webb, president of the North and Central American group Concacaf who was detained.

Disgusted 

UEFA president Michel Platini, a former Blatter ally, told the FIFA leader he had to go because “enough is enough”. Platini said he was “disgusted” and “sickened” by the turmoil engulfing FIFA.

But Blatter again stood firm against his critics. Russian President Vladimir Putin was among those to back him. And even Platini admitted that the veteran Swiss power broker seemed “ready for a fight” at the election.

Blatter spoke with confidence as he appealed to the FIFA congress for a new term on the Friday. Prince Ali bin al Hussein, a FIFA vice president from Jordan who was the only challenger, seemed less at ease.

The vote and the count took more than 90 minutes and when it was over, Blatter had 133 votes – seven short of the required majority – against the prince’s 73.

Prince Ali could have sought a second round but instead thanked those “brave enough” to vote for him and withdrew.

Blatter celebrated and promised to hand over a “stronger” FIFA in four years. Rivals such as Luis Figo, the Portuguese great and onetime candidate, said it was a “sad day” for football. Sponsors called for change.

England’s FIFA vice president David Gill said he would not sit on the world body’s executive committee while Blatter was there.

Three seats were empty when Blatter held the first committee of his new reign on Saturday. The FIFA leader again rejected criticism and told Swiss TV he was “shocked” at the US raids and felt a “hate” campaign from someone within FIFA.

“I forgive but I don’t forget,” he commented.

The tide turned when South African authorities acknowledged on Sunday that a $10 million payment had been made in 2008 to disgraced Caribbean football chief Jack Warner through FIFA. They insisted the money was to promote football development. US investigators suspect the money was a bribe for votes.

FIFA suspended Concacaf’s secretary general Enrique Sanz on Monday, but British officials stepped up talk of a possible boycott of the World Cup.

And pressure mounted when the New York Times reported that US investigators believed FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke had authorised the $10 million payment.

FIFA denied it but a South African letter to Valcke indicated he knew about the payment.

Blatter took centre stage at the press conference where he announced, without displaying an ounce of emotion, that he would organise a new vote for president.

“I don’t feel I have a mandate from the entire world of football,” he said in his end-of-an-era declaration before quietly walking away without answering a question in his normal combative style.

AFP