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Blatter will not endorse FIFA candidates
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SEPP Blatter insists he won’t publicly support a candidate in the FIFA election, though he revealed that four of the five men have contacted him about the campaign.
The suspended FIFA president told French radio station RMC that he could not intervene in the February 26 ballot to succeed him.
“I can’t, it’s not possible,” Blatter said after telling his listeners that “four of the five candidates contacted me and spoke about it.”
Blatter declined to identify the fifth candidate even when it was suggested to be Prince Ali of Jordan, who he beat to win re-election last May.
“You can deduce it was perhaps him that was against me. You are intelligent enough,” Blatter said.
The other candidates are: Asian soccer leader Sheikh Salman of Bahrain, UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino of Switzerland, former FIFA official Jerome Champagne of France and South African businessman Tokyo Sexwale.
He also revealed that “several” of FIFA’s 209 member federations have called asking him how they should vote.
“Vote with your conscience. Vote for who you find good,” Blatter said he told them.
Blatter was giving his first interview since appearing before the FIFA appeal committee on Tuesday to challenge his eight-year ban from office for conflicts of interest.
He robustly defended his former secretary general, Jerome Valcke, who was banned for 12 years by FIFA’s ethics committee last week.
“You can attack me, and I can defend myself, but you can’t attack the secretary general Valcke,” Blatter said.
Blatter, who picked Valcke as his top administrator in 2007, said the Frenchman was a good worker.
“He managed FIFA well,” Blatter said. “We made now an organization that has reserves of 1.3 or 1.4 billion (dollars).”
Blatter admitted his sadness at the nature of his departure, saying he has been left defenceless.
“The departure that is being prepared for me is so sad. There are situations against which one has no way of defending oneself, and all of a sudden, you are left with no friends,” Blatter said.
“In the last 40 years at FIFA we have developed football. It has never been as good as it is now. You only need to cast a glance at the Champions League to see the quality of the football,” he said.
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