May 27--Hours after nine FIFA members and five corporate executives tied to soccer's governing body were indicted on corruption charges, FIFA announced it would not hold a re-vote on its 2018 and 2022 World Cup host nations.
FIFA spokesman Walter De Gregorio told reporters during a news conference Wednesday in Zurich that "Russia and Qatar will be played."
The announcement comes hours after Swiss authorities arrested seven FIFA officials during a raid at a Zurich hotel that is hosting the governing body's annual conference this week. The FBI also raided the Miami Beach headquarters of CONCACAF on Wednesday as part of its ongoing investigation into alleged corruption involving the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup sites.
De Gregorio went on to say that FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who has not been arrested or charged in the ongoing investigations by the FBI and Swiss authorities, is "calm" following the arrest of FIFA officials. Blatter, 79, is running for a fifth term as FIFA president, and a vote is still scheduled to take place Friday.
Blatter "sees what is happening, he is fully cooperating" with authorities, De Gregorio said.
"The stress factor is a little bit higher than it was yesterday," De Gregorio said. "But [Blatter] knows he was not involved."
