SPONSORS PILE PRESSURE

FIFA president says scandal-hit governing body faces more bad news in future

Visa says it will “reassess” its sponsorship of FIFA if immediate action on corruption charges is not taken; Coca-Cola, Adidas, McDonald’s, Budweiser also speak out against corruption scandal

ZURICH: European football chief Michel Platini made a face-toface call on FIFA president Sepp Blatter to stand down at a meeting of world federation leaders on Thursday amid mounting outrage over a corruption storm.

He said Blatter refused and was determined to remain in a vote for the FIFA presidency at a congress on Friday which has even drawn global political leaders into the fray.

Later, Blatter said that the scandal- tainted football body faces “more bad news” and that officials accused of corruption had brought shame and humiliation on the organisation.

Blatter did not raise the many calls made for him to resign or Friday’s election, as he opened FIFA’s annual congress one day after seven top football officials were arrested as part of a US corruption inquiry.

“The next few months will not be easy for FIFA. I am sure more bad news will follow but it is necessary to begin to restore trust,” Blatter told the congress.

“We cannot allow the reputation of football and FIFA to be dragged through the mud any longer. It has to stop here,” he added.

Blatter called the scandals “unprecedented” and said the “actions of individuals bring shame and humiliation on football and demand action and change from us all.”

Despite the storm, Blatter is favourite to win a fifth term in a vote at the congress on Friday. His only challenger is Prince Ali bin al Hussein of Jordan, a FIFA vice president, who has called for widespread reforms.

British Prime Minister David Cameron backed the calls for Blatter to resign. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, whose country beat England to get the 2018 World Cup, supported Blatter for a fifth term.

Platini said he confronted the 79-year-old Blatter at an emergency meeting of the heads of the the six regional confederations. The UEFA president said he was “sickened” and “disgusted” at the events which led to the arrest of seven top officials.