WCup boycotts possible if Blatter stays
Print Edition
Britain said Europe should consider boycotting future World Cups if Sepp Blatter doesn’t quit as head of soccer’s governing body over a corruption scandal, while Swiss authorities denied they would soon question the newly re-elected FIFA president.
The Swiss-born FIFA chief complained yesterday he had been shown “zero respect” in recent days, revealing how he had rejected advice from one of his main critics, the head of the European governing body, to quit at last week’s FIFA congress.
John Whittingdale, the British government minister with overall responsibility for sport, renewed calls for Blatter to step aside yesterday, saying all options should be considered when it came to pressuring him to resign, including boycotting the World Cup — something that could split the sport and be calamitous for the tournament.
Blatter, 79, won a vote on Friday to serve a fifth term as FIFA president even though the US Department of Justice has charged nine soccer officials with corruption.
Swiss authorities are also conducting their own criminal investigation.
He has played down the impact of the scandal on one of the world’s most powerful sports bodies, which takes in billions of dollars in revenue from TV marketing rights and sponsorships. Blatter is not accused of any wrongdoing personally and has implied that the United States timed news of the charges to try to scupper his re-election.
Asked how he had coped with the criticism in the past few days, he told the Swiss newspaper Sonntagsblick: “Let me put it this way: I’ve been shown zero respect.”
Blatter’s future could yet depend on the reaction of FIFA’s major sponsors and stakeholders such as Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, which have been dismayed by the arrests and US prosecutors announcing indictments of officials and companies.
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