Pressure on FIFA to delay election
Source: Agencies |
June 1, 2011, Wednesday
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ENGLAND escalated the crisis at FIFA yesterday by calling for a postponement of the presidential election amid a burgeoning bribery scandal that led to the withdrawal of incumbent Sepp Blatter's only challenger for the top job in football.
The English Football Association said the election lacks the credibility FIFA needs to counter the flood of ethics scandals rocking the sport's global body.
The FA called for more time to allow "any alternative reforming candidate" to come forward to challenge Blatter, who has been president for 13 years and is seeking a final fourth-year term.
On the eve of today's scheduled election, Blatter also had to deal with leading sponsors criticizing FIFA's inability to deal with pervasive corruption claims, and with his second-in-command under fire for saying Qatar had "bought" the 2022 World Cup.
England's intervention took European football body UEFA by surprise, with its president Michel Platini saying the FA did not bring it up at a meeting on Monday.
"They did not ask" for support to postpone the election, Platini said. UEFA is expected to largely back Blatter.
Any postponement of the election would need the backing of three-quarters of the 208 federations attending the Congress, which was scheduled to be opened by Blatter late on Tuesday.
The English FA had already said it was abstaining before the allegations emerged that led to presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam and fellow FIFA executive committee member Jack Warner being suspended.
If Blatter was feeling the strain of the most damaging scandal in FIFA's 107-year history, however, his words didn't betray him.
"Crisis? What is a crisis? Football is not in a crisis," Blatter said at a news conference on Monday. "We are not in a crisis, we are only in some difficulties and these difficulties will be solved - and they will be solved inside this family."
Brazil's 1970 World Cup-winning captain Carlos Alberto Torres said FIFA should be run by former players.
"There should be a general change, there are so many good people who could take office," Carlos Alberto said before naming Platini and Germany's Franz Beckenbauer as former players who have done good work as administrators.
"I think there should be new people in command of the bodies," he said. "With the same people staying (in power) so long there is a vicious circle.
"I think renewal is good in any area, not just football."
The English Football Association said the election lacks the credibility FIFA needs to counter the flood of ethics scandals rocking the sport's global body.
The FA called for more time to allow "any alternative reforming candidate" to come forward to challenge Blatter, who has been president for 13 years and is seeking a final fourth-year term.
On the eve of today's scheduled election, Blatter also had to deal with leading sponsors criticizing FIFA's inability to deal with pervasive corruption claims, and with his second-in-command under fire for saying Qatar had "bought" the 2022 World Cup.
England's intervention took European football body UEFA by surprise, with its president Michel Platini saying the FA did not bring it up at a meeting on Monday.
"They did not ask" for support to postpone the election, Platini said. UEFA is expected to largely back Blatter.
Any postponement of the election would need the backing of three-quarters of the 208 federations attending the Congress, which was scheduled to be opened by Blatter late on Tuesday.
The English FA had already said it was abstaining before the allegations emerged that led to presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam and fellow FIFA executive committee member Jack Warner being suspended.
If Blatter was feeling the strain of the most damaging scandal in FIFA's 107-year history, however, his words didn't betray him.
"Crisis? What is a crisis? Football is not in a crisis," Blatter said at a news conference on Monday. "We are not in a crisis, we are only in some difficulties and these difficulties will be solved - and they will be solved inside this family."
Brazil's 1970 World Cup-winning captain Carlos Alberto Torres said FIFA should be run by former players.
"There should be a general change, there are so many good people who could take office," Carlos Alberto said before naming Platini and Germany's Franz Beckenbauer as former players who have done good work as administrators.
"I think there should be new people in command of the bodies," he said. "With the same people staying (in power) so long there is a vicious circle.
"I think renewal is good in any area, not just football."
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