FBI net tightens
FIFA chief Blatter quits as corruption probe closes in
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HIS FIEFDOM crumbling and his freedom in jeopardy, FIFA president Sepp Blatter stunned the soccer world Tuesday by announcing his resignation in the midst of an expanding criminal probe by federal prosecutors.
Blatter’s departure marks an abrupt end to a 17-year reign as international soccer boss, and sources said he could wind up as one of between 25 and 50 additional people indicted in the scandal.
The soccer honcho made the stunning announcement in a hastily called news conference at his organization’s headquarters in Zurich, calling for an “extraordinary congress” of FIFA members to elect his successor.
With 14 FIFA figures indicted last week, Blatter’s former loyalists are under intense pressure to cooperate with the feds or face lengthy prison terms. Charges could include wire fraud, money laundering and racketeering. Blatter has good reason to be afraid; several of his closest allies are implicated in the sprawling probe, and Swiss authorities have also launched a criminal investigation.
“FIFA needs profound restructuring,” Blatter said. “While I have a mandate from the membership of FIFA, I do not feel that I have a mandate from the entire world of football — the fans, the players, the clubs, the people who live, breathe and love football as much as we all do at FIFA.”
The announcement sent shock waves through the soccer world:
l The chairman of FIFA’s audit and compliance committee, Domenica Scala, previewed a set of reforms that he said may include term limits for top executives.
l Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, who was runnerup to Blatter in last week’s election, told CNN he is prepared to run again.
l Greg Dyke, chairman of England’s Football Association, said the 2010 decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar should be reviewed.
l U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati commended Blatter for resigning, calling it “the first of many steps toward real and meaningful reform.”
Blatter’s decision to bow out comes six days after U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and other Justice Department officials unsealed a 47-count indictment in Brooklyn describing a system of rampant bribery and kickbacks underlying soccer’s international governing body. Nine FIFA executives and five other sports marketing officials were charged, while four other people — including American soccer executive Chuck Blazer — were revealed to have secretly pleaded guilty over the past two years. Blazer is one of at least five defendants already cooperating with authorities.
The Daily News first reported in November on the FBI and IRS investigation that led to the indictment. Based in the Eastern District of New York, the investigation was fueled by the cooperation of Blazer, a former FIFA executive from New York who assisted the feds by secretly recording his conversations with colleagues at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Blatter’s resignation came just four days after he was reelected to a fifth term as the president of FIFA.
“I take the responsibility to bring back FIFA,” Blatter said at the time. “I’m not perfect. Nobody’s perfect.”
On Monday, Blatter’s second-in-command was identified in reports as responsible for a $10 million wire transfer central to the bribery scandal engulfing international soccer. The indictment portrays the money as a bribe sent to FIFA executives in exchange for helping South Africa secure the 2010 World Cup. The New York Times reported FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke was the “high-ranking FIFA official” described in the indictment as “causing” the transfer in 2008. Valcke denied wrongdoing, saying he did not have the power or authorization to make such a payment.
The president of the Confederation of North, Central American, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) at that time was Jack Warner, who was indicted last week and briefly jailed in his native Trinidad. Warner, who worked closely with Blazer for more than 20 years before a bitter falling out in 2011, is under intense pressure to cooperate with U.S. investigators.
Blatter’s demeanor as he exited the stage Tuesday was dramatically different from the defiant posture he took after his reelection, when he suggested the American criminal investigation was motivated by bitterness over Qatar’s selection, in 2010, as the host for the 2022 World Cup tournament.