FIFA scandal:
The head of soccer’s governing body deflects blame and resists calls for his resignation.
ZURICH — As defiant as ever, Sepp Blatter resisted calls to resign as FIFA president Thursday and deflected blame for the massive bribery and corruption scandal engulfing soccer’s world governing body.
“We, or I, cannot monitor everyone all of the time,” Blatter said in his first public remarks on the crisis that has further tainted his leadership on the eve of his bid for a fifth term as president.
The 79- year- old Swiss administrator insisted he could restore trust in world soccer after a pair of corruption investigations brought “shame and humiliation” on his organization and the world’s most popular sport.
“We cannot allow the reputation of football and FIFA to be dragged through the mud any longer,” he said. “It has to stop here and now.”
Despite a tide of criticism and pressure on him to leave, Blatter is moving ahead with a presidential election Friday that is likely to bring him another four years in office as one of them most powerful men in sports.
“The events of yesterday have cast a long shadow over football,” he said, his voice shaky at times, in a speech to open FIFA’s two- day congress. “There can be no place for corruption of any kind.”
Blatter refused to back down after European soccer body UEFA demanded earlier Thursday that he quit following the latest — and most serious allegations — to discredit FIFA during his 17 years in office.
“Enough is enough,” UEFA President Michel Platini said. “People no longer want him anymore and I don’t want him anymore either.”
Blatter, who is expected to win Friday’s election against Prince Ali bin al- Hussein of Jordan, is coming under increasing scrutiny amid U. S. and Swiss federal investigations into highlevel corruption tearing at FIFA.
A U. S. Justice Department investigation accused 14 international soccer officials or sports marketing executives of bribery, racketeering, fraud and money- laundering over two decades in connection with marketing rights worth hundreds of millions of dollars awarded for tournaments in North and South America. Seven officials — including two FIFA vice presidents and members of its finance committee — remained in custody in Zurich on Thursday. Blatter was not implicated in the indictment.
In addition, Swiss officials are investigating the FIFA votes that sent the World Cup tournament to Russia in 2018 and to Qatar in 2022. Both decisions were marred by allegations of wrongdoing.