Summary
And that brings to a close the live blog for today. Here’s a brief summary of today’s events in Fifaland:
- Sepp Blatter has spoken for the first time since yesterday’s arrests. He said that “We can not allow the reputation of Fifa to be dragged through the mud any longer” but warned that they faced “a long and difficult road to rebuilding trust”.
- Politicians weighed in with David Cameron calling for Blatter to resign, and Vladamir Putin accusing the US of ‘meddling’ in matters outside their jurisdiction.
- A series of crisis meetings were held at Fifa HQ.
- Blatter rejected Michel Platini’s plea for his ‘friend’ to resign in a one-on-one meeting.
- Uefa decided not to boycott Friday’s presidential election and will back Prince Ali.
- David Gill will resign from Fifa’s executive committee if Blatter is re-elected.
- Platini failed to rule out Uefa nations boycotting the 2018 World Cup.
If you missed it, here’s what Sepp Blatter said earlier:
“The events of yesterday have cast a long shadow over football and this congress. They bring shame and humiliation to football and demand change from us all. We cannot allow the reputation of Fifa to be dragged through the mud any longer.
“I know many people hold me ultimately responsible [but] I cannot monitor everyone all the time. If people want to do wrong, they will also try to hide it.
“Football cannot be the exception to the rule, that is our responsibility at Fifa, and we will co-operate if anyone is involved in wrongdoing. There can be no place for corruption of any kind.
“Let this be the turning point. More needs to be done to make sure everyone in football behaves responsibly and ethically.
“Football deserves so much more and we must respond. Tomorrow, at the Congress, we will begin a long and difficult road.
“We have lost trust, at least part of it, and we must now earn it back, through the decisions we make.
“We like this game … not for greed, not for exploiting, not for power, but because of the love of the game. Solidarity and unity is asked for the game, for the world, for peace.”
Either just before the ceremony or just after he walked off stage, Blatter bumped into a Channel 4 camera crew:
“Surely it’s time to go, Mr President?” questions the interviewer.
“How are you?” comes the response.
And that’s that for the ceremony, though everyone in attendance is invited to the official Fifa dinner for a vol-au-vent.
There’s now going to be a “grand finale” featuring the entire cast of this feast for the eyes and ears.
It’s all very incongruous. Sepp Blatter speaks defiantly about cleaning up his organisation. And he’s followed by a group of yodellers. Then there’s a trio of men in suits talking formally, if briefly, about the fight against corruption, “dangerous imbalances” and difficult days ahead.
And now there is beatboxing.
Today’s Fiver has now arrived in literally several inboxes around the world. Here’s a taster of today’s tea-time take on events in Zurich:
But there are still people brave enough to stand up for the doctrine of Blatter Infallbility. “This is yet another blatant attempt [by the United States] to extend its jurisdiction to other states,” stormed Vladimir Putin, who seemingly ranks suggestions of wrongdoing by Fifa alongside other fictional notions such as Big Foot, unicorns and Ukrainian sovereignty. “It’s a clear attempt not to allow Mr Blatter to be re-elected as president of Fifa, which is a great violation of the operating principles of international organisations,” added Putin, without specifying whether due process should instead involve tanks and surface-to-air missiles.
Aaannd … back to the dancing and disembodied voiceover.
“Fifa has a credibility problem,” adds Maurer. “Yesterday could go down as a good day if Fifa uses it to put its house in order.”
He warns of a “dangerous imbalance” in Fifa’s standing as a role model for young people.
Swiss Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer: “On behalf of the Swiss government I would like to welcome you, despite the terrible events of yesterday.”
“Switzerland fulfills its international treaty obligations,” he adds.
“I would like to stress that Switzerland strongly condemns any kind of corruption.”
Updated
After touching on the corruption allegations, Bach has moved on to education, participation and the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
The IOC’s Thomas Bach is now at the lectern. “These are sad and difficult days for Fifa. And these are also extremely important days.
“We know that the fight [against corruption] is challenging can be very painful.”
He tells Fifa to “take all necessary measures” to address the grave allegations.
Zurich official tells Congress: "FIFA does a good job ... we should be grateful of that despite the actions of US & Swiss legal authorities"
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) May 28, 2015
Blatter and Fifa are now (unsurprisingly) receiving support from their city. “Let me be clear – the city of Zurich is glad to be Fifa’s partner,” said Filippo Leutenegger, a member of the city council.
This is one of the more restrained moments:
For a long time there’s been something almost Orwellian about Fifa. And this opening ceremony is doing little to change that sense. It’s An Entertainment. We’ve just had some yodelling. Now there’s a group of folk in traditional Swiss dress dancing in a huddle. You can follow the live stream of this bizarre spectacle here.
Sound familiar? “We are going to put Fifa’s ship back on the right course, in clear, transparent waters. We will need some time, we cannot do it from one day to the next, but our pyramid is intact because the foundation is solid, just as solid as our game.”
Nope, not something Blatter said today, but something he said following his re-election as president in 2011.
We’ll have the full text of Blatter’s speech as soon as possible. Suffice to say, there was nothing you haven’t heard before from the Fifa president. There was an emphasis on the allegations and arrests focussing on “a minority of individuals” and a promise to clean up and rebuild trust. But that’s a refrain that we became very familiar with the last time Blatter was seeking re-election.
Same old Blatter. Says he is the man to reform Fifa and rebuild trust. You've been there 40 years man.
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) May 28, 2015
A few more lines from earlier: “Many people hold me responsible … I can’t monitor everyone all of the time.”
“We will co-operate with all authorities to make sure all involved in wrongdoing is discovered and punished.”
“I will not allow the actions of a few to destroy the actions of those who work so hard for football.”
And that’s about that. Sepp has moved on to praising the dancers and artists who are about to perform at the opening ceremony.
“Tomorrow, the congress, we have the opportunity to begin on the long and difficult road to rebuilding trust. We must earn it back through the decisions we make, the expectations we place on each other and the way we behave individually.”
“The next few months will not be easy for Fifa. I’m sure more bad news may follow. But it is necessary to begin to restore trust in our organisation. Let this be the turning point.”
“I must stress that those who are corrupt in football are in a minority, as in society. But as in society they must be caught.”
Blatter: “These are unprecedented and difficult times for Fifa. The events of yesterday have cast a long shadow over football and over this week’s congress. Actions of individuals, if proven, bring shame and humiliation on football and demand action and change from us all. We can not allow the reputation of Fifa to be dragged through the mud any longer.”
Sepp Blatter is beginning his opening ceremony speech.
Summary
- Nine Fifa officials and four executives of sports management companies were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of receiving bribes totalling $100m
- Australian police asked to investigate a $500,000 payment to Fifa’s Jack Warner
- Politicians weigh in with David Cameron calling for Blatter to resign, and Vladamir Putin accusing the US of ‘meddling’ in matters outside their jurisdiction
- Series of crisis meetings held at Fifa HQ on Thursday
- Blatter rejects Platini’s plea for his ‘friend’ to resign in a one-on-one meeting
- Uefa will not boycott Friday’s presidential election and will back Prince Ali
- David Gill will resign from Fifa’s executive committee if Blatter is re-elected
- Platini fails to rule out Uefa nations boycotting the 2018 World Cup
Updated
Sepp is in the building. https://t.co/OQunYgM0xt
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) May 28, 2015
@SeppBlatter arrives at FIFA Congress. Doesn't not respond when asked why he has not resigned
— Paul Kelso (@pkelso) May 28, 2015
Sepp Blatter has arrived for the opening of the 65th Fifa congress in Zurich. The world’s press are kept well back as a relaxed Blatter puts on his jacket and takes to the red carpet, saying nothing.
Updated
David Gill said today that he will step down from Fifa’s executive committee if Sepp Blatter wins Friday’s presidential election. Speaking on Sky News this afternoon, Gill said:
I was delighted when Uefa voted me in. What’s changed my mind? Seismic events yesterday. Joining [Fifa] would be futile and that would not be right for me. I can categorically state that in Prince Ali we have a candidate. It would be a new Fifa.
There’s no way the president, who has worked for Fifa for many many years, can ignore [corruption allegations]. He has to move on. If I was in that situation i would. I can’t see how that cannot be the right decision.
For president Blatter not to resign based on what happened yesterday is indicative of the problem. He disagrees and that’s his prerogative.
Does Gill not think he can bring change from inside Fifa?
No, when I went for it, I thought that would be the case. Uefa have 8 votes, roughly a third. That is a good platform could effect that change. Things will not change until there is a new leader of football and world football is crying out for it.
He refused to speculate on whether Uefa would encourage a boycott of the 2018 World Cup.
Updated
So after crisis meetings at Fifa HQ, and a personal plea from the Uefa president Michel Platini, Sepp Blatter has resisted calls to step down. Uefa will back his challenger, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein. Here’s the latest from our reporters in Zurich and London:
Fifa president Sepp Blatter is to press ahead with his bid for a fifth term at the head of football’s scandal-hit world governing body, rebuffing a personal plea for him to quit from the head of the game in Europe.
Uefa, European football’s governing body, ruled out seeking a postponement of Friday’s election and will instead back Blatter’s challenger, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan.
Blatter made his decision to stay after a series crisis meetings at Fifa HQ with representatives of the six regional football confederations. He rejected a face-to-face demand from the president of Uefa, Michel Platini, for his resignation.
“I asked him to resign: enough is enough, Sepp. He listened to me but he told me it is too late,” Platini told a news conference in Zurich. Platini said he was “disgusted” and “sickened” by the scandal gripping the organisation.
Key points from Michel Platini press conference
- Personally asked his ‘friend’ Blatter to step down earlier today but Blatter refused, saying the request had come too late
- Convinced most Uefa associations will vote for Prince Ali in tomorrow’s vote: ‘A minimum of 45 or 46 [out of 53]. I try to convince more’
- Believes confederations will not vote in bloc and that Blatter can be defeated in tomorrow’s presidential election
- Refuses to rule out European nations boycotting 2018 World Cup
The Guardian’s David Conn talking on Sky News:
There’s a feeling of impotence in the European football associations because they believe Blatter is going to sail through and be elected. The idea of them pressing some sort of D-day and boycotting the world cup, I just cant see there being support for that.
It’s absolutely staggering – reading the indictment you could drown yourself with the detail, then you step back and think this is really happening and this is huge. In the past in general we’ve just had reports and rumours and investigative journalism.
[Fifa] feel that they’re not rocked by it. Blatter has got support by African football associations. In the world of Fifa it is not impossible that Blatter thinks in a few weeks time people will move on.
I don’t see the sponsors as any sort of key. For their own PR they have to say something like that this [condemn corruption] but having their name wrapped around the greatest sporting event in the world… I don’t recall a sponsor withdrawing in the past four or five years.
Platini said it was difficult for him to tell his “friend” Sepp Blatter that he should step down, and said the incumbent president “wants to come out fighting”. Platini finished the press conference saying:
Europe don’t support Mr Blatter... There are beautiful evenings ahead, but some long days before them.
Michel Platini on Fifa:
I’m responsible for Uefa. Fifa covers more. I don’t know the system, I only here the rumours and read the press – I’m not dumb.
I would have liked to hear the Garcia report. Today we have had proof that there is something that does’t work. We are waiting for the Garcia report and we would have had it for a while now [had it been made public originally].
Does Platini believe that Blatter really would have resigned, had he been asked several weeks ago?
Yes. Yes, yes. I believe, but I couldn’t have asked him a few weeks ago because what happened happened yesterday.
Asked if Europe could boycott the World Cup, Platini said Uefa will remain "open to all options".
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) May 28, 2015
Updated
Platini said that all of Uefa's representatives on the Fifa ex-co could boycott if Blatter wins.
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) May 28, 2015
Platini on Prince Ali, who he has vowed to back in tomorrow’s election:
Prince Ali is young, he’s ambitious and that’s why I support him. He can do some good, he doesn’t need money. Things are a bit complicated in his region because he doesn’t have the support of his region but he’s a man that can do a lot of good.
Does Platini believe Blatter can be beaten tomorrow?
Yes. Before what happened yesterday, no. But enough is enough. People have really had enough. I think there will be a lot of changes but we’re going to continue working this evening.
Platini on David Gill, who has said he will resign from the Fifa’s executive committee if Blatter wins the election for presidency:
I brought David into Fifa. He was not interested and I said England has to be in Fifa, it’s too easy to speak in the newspaper it is better to speak in the room.
But, he said ‘I will be proposed as vice president of the British before the elections’. Which means he doesn’t know what could be the election of the president after that.
To be clear, if we can win the election we meet all the general secretaries in Berlin at the final of the Champions League and we can make decisions, other decisions. Many people don’t want to stay with this Fifa. It could be... it could be in Berlin.
Platini confirms he asked Blatter to leave but that the incumbent said it was too late for him to quit, one day before the Congress.
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) May 28, 2015
Platini says he does not regret not standing for the Fifa presidency and defends his previous support for Blatter.
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) May 28, 2015
Platini on meeting with Blatter:
I told him ‘Sepp, I’d like to speak to you man to man, face to face.’ He said ‘It’s too late. I can’t all of a sudden leave when congress starts this afternoon.’
I told Sepp Blatter to leave, to step down, because you are giving Fifa a terrible image. It’s not easy to tell a friend that he must leave but that is the way history is going. I’m saying this with sadness, with tears in my eyes. There have been too many scandals.
Updated
Michel Platini:
Today we had a meeting of the 54 members, tomorrow when it comes to the election of the presidency a very big majority of European national associations will vote Prince Ali. People don’t want (Sepp Blatter) anymore and I don’t want him anymore either. I have always said they want Fifa to be strong and Fifa is no longer strong. I am still trying to convince some [European football associations] who are not totally convinced.
Michel Platini speaks to the press following Fifa’s meeting:
Sometimes I have stomach troubles and that relates to Fifa problems. Honestly, myself as a lover of Fifa, I’m a great admirer of it’s history, I really don’t know where to put myself. I have had enough, enough is enough. Too much is too much.
Michael van Praag, the Dutch FA president, says boycotting the Congress would achieve nothing and hand Blatter victory.
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) May 28, 2015
Our chief sport correspondent Owen Gibson has filed this from Zurich:
European football’s governing body has ruled out seeking a postponement of Friday’s Fifa presidential election despite the crisis gripping the organisation and will instead back Sepp Blatter’s challenger Prince Ali bin al-Hussein.
Following a meeting of all 54 Uefa members, it also emerged that former Manchester United chief executive David Gill has vowed to relinquish his seat as Fifa vice president if Blatter wins Friday’s election.
The Uefa and FA board member received applause when he said he would not take up the seat he was due to inherit from Jim Boyce after Friday’s Fifa Congress.
The Uefa president, Michel Platini, who had earlier met personally with Blatter to ask him to stand down in the wake of Wednesday’s dramatic wave of arrests, told the delegates that the confederation needed to unite in support of Blatter’s challenger Prince Ali. Most of Uefa’s members will back Ali in Friday’s election though some, including Russia and Spain, will remain staunch backers of the incumbent.
Prince Ali is understood to have told the Uefa delegates that he believed he had the support of more than 60 associations outside Europe, which would give him more than enough backing to take the contest to a second round. Ali or Blatter would need a two thirds majority to win in the first round and a simple majority thereafter.
Following a morning of crisis meetings at Fifa HQ with representatives of each confederation, Blatter has resolved to press ahead with Friday’s election.
One Uefa source said that when Platini, a former supporter of Blatter, personally asked the president to stand down he told him that he would not but that he might have considered it if he had been asked earlier.
Michael van Praag, the Dutch FA president who stood down from the race to succeed Blatter last week before Tuesday’s dramatic arrests, said that Uefa had decided against a boycott of Friday’s vote because that would guarantee Blatter victory.
Uefa’s meeting sparked quite the media scrum:
Absolute chaos at the UEFA Confederation meeting. Just a mess. https://t.co/m24YztDz8Z
— Harry Reekie (@HarryCNN) May 28, 2015
Uefa’s stance was confirmed by John Delaney, chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland:
“David Gill stood up and said he won’t take up his seat, that was the big thing. I think it was very brave and very honest of him and there was a good round of applause, people thought ‘that’s a man of honour’. From his own personal perspective he doesn’t want to serve under Blatter and you have to respect that position.
“There wasn’t a vote taken but Michel Platini will tell you Uefa is unified, whether all 53 transfer their votes over I don’t know, I think one or two will be lost along the way.”
Platini asked Blatter to stand down after one on one meeting. Blatter, unsurprisingly, refused.
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) May 28, 2015
Gill got a round of applause from Uefa delegates when he said he would stand down from Fifa ex co if Blatter wins.
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) May 28, 2015
Uefa will not boycott election; Gill to resign if Blatter wins
So Uefa has decided not to boycott tomorrow’s scheduled election for Fifa presidency and will instead get behind Prince Ali in a bid to oust Sepp Blatter from power and prevent the 79-year-old securing a fifth-term.
In addition, PA are reporting that David Gill will resign from Fifa’s executive committee if Blatter is re-elected as president.
Updated
Uefa won't boycott congress and will largely vote for Prince Ali. David Gill to step down from Fifa ex co if Blatter wins.
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) May 28, 2015
Prince Ali told Uefa that he believes he has 60 votes outside Europe.
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) May 28, 2015
Updated
A reminder that we are still waiting to hear the fallout from Sepp Blatter’s emergency meeting with the heads of the representatives from Fifa’s six confederations, which includes Uefa’s Michel Platini – and it is being reported that Uefa will not boycott tomorrow’s scheduled election for Fifa presidency.
Updated
Though some of the tweets need no translation...
The USA in meddling in internal affairs again. #FIFAarrests pic.twitter.com/7JbH9aOnYY
— Vladimir Putin (@DarthPutinKGB) May 28, 2015
Это круто! Стали известны обложки, к новой ФИФА 2016:) #юмор #футбол pic.twitter.com/zCw3DvdbB7
— Belultras.by (@belultras_by) May 27, 2015
.@SeppBlatter when he remembered Russia destroyed the computers used for our #FIFA world cup bid. #FIFAarrests pic.twitter.com/YEsRKi2ju7
— Vladimir Putin (@DarthPutinKGB) May 27, 2015
Reaction in Russia to events has ranged “from the droll to the pugnacious”, according to Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, who translate a number of tweets to convey public perception:
Before the Kremlin commented on the shocking legal drama unfolding over alleged activities at global soccer authority FIFA, the Russian Internet and other media lit up as Russians reacted to news of investigations that could cast a harsh light on Russia’s successful bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
Swiss authorities on May 27 arrested senior soccer officials for alleged corruption in connection with a U.S. case targeting FIFA executives and launched their own criminal proceedings relating to the way the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 were awarded to Russia and Qatar.
From the droll to the pugnacious, Russian commentary blended jokes at the expense of Russia’s World Cup bid, fears that Russia could lose its 2018 host status, the usual smattering of conspiracy theories, and a healthy dose of anti-Americanism.
The latter dovetailed with the comment that the Russian Foreign Ministry finally released in the evening, calling the arrests “the latest case of illegal extraterritorial application of American legislation.”
Updated
This tweet captures what the shadow culture, media and sport secretary, Chris Bryant, put in strong terms this morning in the House of Commons: “Workers are dying, 62 per match. Human rights are systemcaticlly being abused. Now that (sponsors) have raised concerns, should the bidding rounds [for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups] not be reopened?”
The human toll of FIFA’s corruption, in one chart http://t.co/reXXZRhkt4 pic.twitter.com/7NI1QiVxPF
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 27, 2015
Updated
Inside World Football reports further African backing for the embattled Fifa president, with Guinea-Bissau FA president Manuel Nascimento Lopes describing the “conspiracy” against Blatter as “blasphemy”.
Western-led calls for Sepp Blatter to resign as FIFA president in the wake of the gravest corruption crisis to hit his organisation was described today as “blasphemy” by one of Africa’s federation presidents who said his continent was more firmly behind the veteran Swiss than ever.
While few federations have been prepared to speak out following the astonishing corruption claims in the United States, coupled with an unrelated seperate Swiss probe into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid process, Guinea-Bissau FA president Manuel Nascimento Lopes said it was totally unfair to blame Blatter for the shady conduct of others.
“I’m a Christian and this is blasphemy,” Nascimento Lopes said.
Updated
The Guardian political reporter Frances Perraudin has this on the news that David Cameron has joined calls for Blatter to resign:
The prime minister backs the culture secretary’s call for Sepp Blatter to resign, a Downing Street spokesperson has told journalists in Westminster.
Asked if the prime minister supported comments John Whittingdale made in parliament this morning, his spokesperson said: “I associated the prime minister in full with what John Whittingdale was saying.”
He added: “We are squarely behind the FA. The FA, as John Whittingdale said in his statement, supports the candidacy of Prince Ali, and we are full square behind that.”
The spokesperson was asked whether the prime minister thought the next World Cup should take place in Russia.
“I understand that many England fans were disappointed that England’s bid hadn’t been successful,” he said. “You know that the prime minister was one of them. He was out there along with others of course trying to get a successful England bid at that time.”
He added: “What we now need to see is the criminal investigations and there are of course two distinct ones – there is a US one and one by the Swiss authorities ... – and they of course should be completed. And then what you need in terms of governance, as John Whittingdale was rightly saying – and I would associate the prime minister with his remarks in full – you will want to see reform of FIFA.”
Updated
#AFC + #CAF have now re-iterated their support for #Blatter + insist the election should go ahead. Waiting on outcome from #UEFA meeting...
— Amanda Davies (@AmandaJDavies) May 28, 2015
Updated
Caf has released a statement opposing any postponement of tomorrow’s Fifa presidential election:
The Confederation of African Football opposes any postponement of the 65th FIFA Congress and the election for the presidency scheduled May 29, 2015 in Zurich. During the meeting of the federation held May 27, 2015 in Zurich, the FCA reiterated its support for the candidacy of Sepp Blatter in the election.
It should be noted that CAF is following with particular attention the events that occur at this time in the football family. It reaffirms its commitment to work and to cooperate in safeguarding the ethical and moral values that underlie the practice of the sport, its organization and administration. Hence its full and ongoing support to the package of measures driven to FIFA in recent years in improving governance.
CAF reaffirms its readiness to cooperate in this direction with all the institutions that engage and subscribes it to zero tolerance regarding offenders regardless of their profile or origin.
Updated
Reuters report that the Russian sports minister, Vitaly Mutko, said today there was “no risk” of Russia losing the right to host the 2018 World Cup after Swiss investigators opened a criminal investigation into the bidding process.
This follows Vladamir Putin’s strong words earlier on state TV which accused the US of “meddling” in affairs outside of their jurisdiction:
“This is yet another blatant attempt [by the United States] to extend its jurisdiction to other states,” the Russian president said on Thursday.
Putin added that the arrests were a “clear attempt” to prevent the re-election of Fifa head Sepp Blatter and that the Swiss had Russia’s backing.
“It looks very strange, the arrests are carried out on the request of the USA side,” he said.
“They are accused of corruption – who is? International officials. I suppose that someone broke some rules, I don’t know. But definitely, it’s got nothing to do with the USA. Those officials are not US citizens. If something happened it was not in the US and it’s nothing to do with them.
“It’s another clear attempt by the USA to spread its jurisdiction to other states. And I have no doubt – it’s a clear attempt not to allow Mr Blatter to be re-elected as president of Fifa, which is a great violation of the operating principles of international organisations. The US prosecutor, as our media report, has already said that those Fifa officials have committed a crime. As if the prosecutor didn’t know about the principle of the presumption of innocence.”
Updated
Key developments this morning
- Sepp Blatter has held an emergency meeting with the six confederations including Uefa president Michel Platini
- David Cameron has joined calls for Blatter to resign as Fifa president
- Culture, media and sport secretary John Whittingdale said in the Commons that Blatter should quit the ‘deeply flawed and corrupt organisation’
- Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of ‘meddling’ over Fifa arrests
-
Australian police have been asked to investigate a $500,000 payment by Football Federation Australia to Fifa’s Jack Warner
Updated
Blatter held an emergency meeting with representatives from the six confederations including Uefa president Michel Platini this morning, it has been confirmed. A Fifa official told PA: “A meeting was held with representatives from the confederations but there is no further information.”
Prime Minister David Cameron has joined the calls for Sepp Blatter to resign, says his official spokesman:
“I’ve associated the Prime Minister in full with what John Whittingdale was saying. The FA – and we are squarely behind the FA – supports the candidacy of Prince Ali [bin al-Hussein].
“I understand that many England fans were disappointed that England’s bid hadn’t been successful. You know that the Prime Minister was one of them.
“He was out there, along with others of course, trying to get a successful England bid at that time. But I terms of the focus now, it is the investigations and reform of Fifa.”
Updated
Uefa president Michel Platini trapped in lift - the only way is up pic.twitter.com/kHkMRqoCqm
— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) May 28, 2015
Owen Gibson on the latest from Zurich, where Uefa are meeting now to discuss the crisis:
Michel Platini has just arrived at the Uefa meeting at which the European confederation will decide whether to push for a postponement of Friday’s election. He came straight from an emergency meeting convened by Sepp Blatter. Uefa sources are split over whether to push for a postponement of Friday’s vote, while some including Russia and Spain will continue to back Blatter. Following the meeting Platini will hold a press conference.
David Smith has the view from the ground in Zambia, where Sepp Blatter has skilfully commandeered backing from football associations across the African game, using projects like Goal to garner support:
Fraying at the edges, Fifa’s flags twist in the wind outside Football House in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, with the national flag between them. A nearby inscription is badly faded in the sun. It reads: “The Football Association of Zambia, Football House, built as part of Fifa’s Goal development programme was inaugurated in Lusaka on 6 April 2002 by Joseph S Blatter, Fifa president.”
Presenting Zambian football with its first home is just one example of how Blatter has won the hearts and minds of Africa’s football establishment. Its loyalty has enabled him to ride out every storm and is more critical than ever as seeks re-election at the helm of an organisation embroiled in the biggest scandal in its history.
On Wednesday, Swiss authorities arrested seven high-ranking Fifa officials in a dawn raid at the behest of the United States and opened criminal proceedings over the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Loretta Lynch, the US attorney general, said the officials whose extradition she is seeking had allegedly lined their pockets with $150m, in what another US official dubbed “a World Cup of fraud”. The crisis has put Blatter under intense scrutiny as he runs for a fifth term as president of world football’s governing body.
Yet in all likelihood, the 79-year-old will prevail again on Friday. He has ensured that Fifa gives enough money and encouragement to guarantee the loyalty of the various confederations that vote for the new president every four years. The Confederation of African Football (Caf), for example, has traditionally voted for the Swiss because it believes he alone cares about the continent.
Read David Smith’s full piece: How Sepp Blatter won the hearts and minds of Africa to ride out Fifa storms .
There is plenty of focus on South Africa this morning and the winning bid to host the 2010 World Cup, with Danny Jordaan coming under scrutiny. The South African government have today denied any wrongdoing over allegations that huge bribes were paid during the bidding process, as AFP in Johannesburg report:
“When we concluded the FIFA World Cup here in South Africa we got a clean audit report,” Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe told reporters in Cape Town. “There has never been any suggestion that anything untoward happened in South Africa.”
Radebe, who was on the local organising committee (LOC), did not directly address the US indictment, which alleged that $10,000 was handed over in Paris as a bribe by a “high-ranking South African bid committee official”.
It also alleged the South Africa government agreed that $10 million that was due to be paid to South Africa to run the World Cup was instead transferred from FIFA’s funds to pay bribes. “Ernst and Young is a reputed auditing firm,” Radebe said.
“When we concluded the FIFA World Cup here in South Africa we got a clean audit report, so what came yesterday, I think the due process will take place. But, as far as we are concerned as former members of the LOC, there was a clean audit report.”
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Developments over the past 24 hours have provoked powerful words in the House of Commons this morning, as political correspondent Rowena Mason reports:
John Whittingdale, the new culture, media and sport secretary, suggested Blatter should quit Fifa as the “deeply flawed and corrupt organisation” needs a change of leadership. He also urged sponsors to follow the lead of Visa and “reflect on their links to Fifa”.
He said football’s reputation had been “dragged into the mud” and that while the arrests of Fifa officials in Zurich were “shocking in both their scope and scale”, they also “far from surprising”. Whittingdale then paid tribute to the Insight team at the Sunday Times whose revelations increased scrutiny of Fifa.
The government will now write to other European sports ministers, setting out the UK’s concerns and seeking their support. The UK will also make information available to US prosecutors, while British authorities would no doubt be looking at the allegations to see whether laws have been broken in this country, Whittingdale added.
Chris Bryant, the shadow culture, media and sport secretary, then called for bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to be re-opened, or for the major football associations to the world to think about creating a new World Cup. He argued it was “inconceivable” that Blatter could stay in his post and highlighted the human rights abuses associated with World Cup stadium construction in Qatar.
“Can anyone be in any doubt that Fifa is rotten to the core and needs swift and wholesale reform?” he added.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has been speaking on state TV in the past few minutes, and had this to say on the Fifa arrests:
It looks very strange, the arrests are carried out on the request of the USA side. They are accused of corruption – who is? International officials. I suppose that someone broke some rules, I don’t know. But definitely, it’s got nothing to do with the USA. Those officials are not US citizens. If something happened it was not in the US and it’s nothing to do with them.
It’s another clear attempt by the USA to spread its jurisdiction to other states. And I have no doubt – it’s a clear attempt not to allow Mr Blatter to be re-elected as president of Fifa, which is a great violation of the operating principles of international organisations. The US prosecutor, as our media report, has already said that those Fifa officials have committed a crime. As if the prosecutor didn’t know about the principle of the presumption of innocence.
We know the position of the USA regarding Mr Snowden. Who uncovered the practice of illegal actions of the US all over the world including tapping in on leaders of other countries. Everyone discussed that, including in Europe. But no one wants to give him refuge and guarantee his security (apart from Russia). No one wants to fight with their partner, their senior partner – He’s a US citizen. What about Assange? Who has to hide for several years in foreign embassy. What’s he sought for? Sexual crimes? No one believes that. Because he spread info regarding the actions of the US military, including in Iraq.
Why do I recall these cases? The US use these methods to achieve their self-interested aims. And they do it illegally. They harass people. I don’t rule out that the same is happening regarding Fifa. Although I don’t know how that will end but the fact it’s happening on the eve of the election of Fifa head points to that aim.
John Whittingdale also called for Michael Garcia’s report into the World Cup bids to be made public – in full.
The issue is currently being discussed in the House of Commons. John Whittingdale, the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, is answering for the government and has said in the past few minutes:
“The English FA and home nations, I will be in touch with them. I am very pleased that all four have take then same approach in supporting Uefa in terms of [Fifa’s] leadership and postponement of the [Fifa presidential] election tomorrow.
“I hope that one of the consequences is that we will now have a proper investigation which will lead to reform [of Fifa].”
MP Chris Bryant spoke passionately on the crisis:
“Football belongs to mums and dads taking kids to their first match, not the fat cats creaming millions off the top for themselves. Is it not inconceivable that Sepp Blatter can continue now?”
Regarding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he adds:
“Matches will be played indoors in 40 degrees. Workers are dying, 62 per match. Human rights are systemcaticlly being abused. Now that (sponsors) have raised concerns, should the bidding rounds [for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups] not be reopened?”
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What could worsen an already disastrous situation for Fifa is the response of the organisation’s key sponsors. PA report that South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai have said it is “extremely concerned” by the allegations.
“As a company that places the highest priority on ethical standards and transparency, Hyundai Motor is extremely concerned about the legal proceedings being taken against certain FIFA executives and will continue to monitor the situation closely,” it said in a statement.
A spokesman for McDonald’s, a second-tier sponsor, said: “McDonald’s takes matters of ethics and corruption very seriously and the news from the US Department of Justice is extremely concerning. We are in contact with FIFA on this matter. We will continue to monitor the situation very closely.”
This follows yesterday’s initial reaction from brands including Visa and Coca-Cola:
Fifa sponsors, including Adidas, Visa and Coca-Cola, are calling for the body to reform its practices. Visa issued a statement on Wednesday expressing its “disappointment and concern with Fifa”. It said that unless football’s world governing body rebuilds a corporate culture with “strong ethical practices” at its heart, “we have informed them that we will reassess our sponsorship”.
Coca-Cola said: “This lengthy controversy has tarnished the mission and ideals of the Fifa World Cup and we have repeatedly expressed our concerns about these serious allegations.”
South Korean firm Hyundai Motor Company, the sole Asian Fifa partner for the 2018 World Cup to be held in Russia, said it was extremely concerned. Anheuser-Busch InBev, whose Budweiser brand is a sponsor of the 2018 World Cup, said: “We expect all of our partners to maintain strong ethical standards and operate with transparency.” McDonald’s, meanwhile, said it was monitoring the situation.
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It’s worth noting that there is an urgent question in the House of Commons today regarding Fifa. John Whittingdale, the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, will be answering for the government, and we can expect him to have strong words on the crisis facing football’s governing body.
In Russia, Reuters report that President Vladimir Putin has accused the US of meddling outside its jurisdiction:
“This is yet another blatant attempt (by the United States) to extend its jurisdiction to other states,” Putin said. He added the arrests were a “clear attempt” to prevent the re-election of Fifa head Sepp Blatter and that he had Russia’s backing.
South Africa’s successful bid to host the 2010 World Cup is also facing scrutiny. Danny Jordaan, president of the South African Football Association who led the bid, has been elected unopposed as mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay in Port Elizabeth. The opposition parties boycotted.
Here is how the Mail & Guardian reported the story in South Africa today:
South Africa and its football officials stand accused of buying the vote that landed the country the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Now all eyes are on Danny Jordaan, who led the bid and hopes to be elected mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay on Thursday.
United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch dropped her bombshell indictment on international football on Wednesday, alleging “corruption that is rampant, systemic and deep-rooted”, spanning two-and-a-half decades and multiple jurisdictions.
The indictment was unsealed after Swiss police dramatically arrested seven Fifa officials who had gathered in Zurich for the world football governing body’s elective congress, due to start on Friday. The arrests were at the behest of the US authorities, but in apparent investigations of their own, Swiss authorities raided Fifa offices.
Altogether nine Fifa or Fifa member organisation officials and five company executives are indicted by the US. Another four individuals and two sports companies have already been convicted quietly, after plea bargains.
Where this leaves Jordaan is unclear. As head of the South African Football Association, he was reportedly due to fly to Zurich on Thursday to attend the congress – the same day he could be elected as mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay – should the ANC succeed in mustering its small majority in the metro.
Jordaan could not be reached for comment before going to press and did not respond to text messages. When amaBhungane phoned the ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa on Wednesday evening, the call was cut mid conversation, and he did not respond to text messages.
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The Australian Associated Press report that police in the country have been asked to investigate a payment of $500,000 by Football Federation Australia to former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner:
It’s understood Bonita Mersiades, a former Australian football executive turned whistleblower, has written to the AFP asking that it investigate the matter following raids that resulted in the arrests of seven high-ranking executives of football’s global governing body.
The AFP’s commissioner, Andrew Colvin, on Thursday confirmed that it may investigate the allegations after the matter was raised by the South Australian senator Nick Xenophon during a Senate hearing in Canberra.
Xenophon has also called on FFA to formally report to US authorities the payment it made to Warner, who is facing eight counts of corruption.
He’s also urged the federal government to denounce Fifa’s president, Sepp Blatter, and request a fresh vote for the 2022 World Cup.
Australians should be worried about the $45m it spent on a “fixed” bidding process to host the event after several top FIFA officials were arrested on corruption charges, he said.
“The beautiful game has been turned into an incredibly ugly business,” Xenophon said on Thursday. “There needs to be action taken, but the first step is that we need to say that this is just outrageous.”
Both the Australian government and FFA needed to speak out about Blatter and the need for reform at Fifa to restore some integrity in the sport, he said.
“I think once you get some countries such as Australia speaking out, the dam will break and many others will speak out on this.”
It’s alleged Warner stole the money which had been intended for a stadium upgrade in Trinidad and Tobago in 2010.
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Here is the latest from Owen Gibson, the Guardian’s chief sports correspondent, in Zurich:
FA chairman Greg Dyke has moved to dismiss speculation that the current Fifa crisis could lead to England hosting the 2018 World Cup.
“This absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with an England bid for the World Cup or England hosting the World Cup,” said Dyke, ahead of a Uefa meeting to decide how best to challenge Blatter ahead of Friday’s scheduled presidential election.
“This is about one thing: how do you re-build the reputation of Fifa and turn it into an open, fair and honest organisation with Blatter still at the helm?”
Dyke has previously called on Blatter to go and questioned whether Friday’s vote could take place in light of the arrest of seven Fifa officials including two vice presidents by police in Zurich.
The suggestion that the controversial 2018 and 2022 World Cup race could could be reopened followed comments by Lennart Johansson, the former Uefa president who once failed to beat Sepp Blatter to the Fifa presidency, who says he expects Fifa to “reconsider the (World Cup) decisions.” (More from Johansson below).
In the strongest intervention yet by a top Fifa partner Visa has called for urgent reform and said it would otherwise consider its relationship with world football’s governing body, which currently runs until 2022.
“It will be interested to see how many other sponsors come out and say things like that,” said Dyke.
I understand FIFA Presidential candidate Prince Ali wants tomorrow's election to go ahead, & feels like it is not a foregone conclusion
— Dan Roan (@danroan) May 28, 2015
The latest dissenting voice towards Blatter comes from his former rival for Fifa presidency, Lennart Johansson. The former head of Uefa, who lost the 1998 Fifa presidential election to Blatter, says Russia and Qatar’s respective wins to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups should be reviewed following fresh corruption charges:
“I expect they will reconsider the (World Cup) decisions. Blatter himself has said that the decision to go east wasn’t proper. I am sure the initiative will now be taken to make a new decision.
“England haven’t had it since 1966 and it’s considered ’the motherland of football’, whatever we might think. They are worthy of the attention.
“I’m not surprised at what is happening. Blatter will obviously ensure that he wins the election in his own way. I think it’s unfortunate that the world’s biggest sporting movement has such a leader at the top, I really do.”
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The Guardian front page, Thursday 28 May 2015: The stench of corruption pic.twitter.com/7YCnGD2hbh
— The Guardian (@guardian) May 28, 2015
The Guardian’s front page this morning leads with the growing number of voices throughout football as well as key stakeholders outside the game calling for Sepp Blatter to resign as Fifa president.
Greg Dyke, the chairman of the English Football Association, is one of those demanding Blatter immediately steps down:
“Blatter has put out a statement saying now is the time to start rebuilding the trust in Fifa – there is no way of re-building trust in Fifa while Sepp Blatter is still there.
“Sepp Blatter has to go. He either has to go through a resignation, or he has to be out-voted or we have to find a third way. I think the time has come where the damage this has done to Fifa is so great that it can’t be re-built while Blatter is there so Uefa has got to try to force him out.”
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Key developments yesterday
In case you missed it, here is what happened on an unprecedented day of crisis for Fifa yesterday:
- Nine Fifa officials and four executives of sports management companies were arrested on suspicion of receiving bribes totalling $100m (£65m), according to the US Department of Justice.
- Fifa president Sepp Blatter was not among the accused. Fifa spokesman Walter de Gregorio told the Associated Press: “He is not involved at all.”
- The officials are accused of taking in excess of $150m in bribes stretching back 24 years. US prosecutors said the officials conspired with sports marketing executives to “shut out competitors and keep highly lucrative contracts for themselves through the systematic payment of bribes and kickbacks”.
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Welcome to today’s live blog covering the developments in Zurich as the crisis at Fifa rumbles on. We will have the latest on this live blog as the story develops. Here’s a quick summary of the latest news.
- England should host 2018 World Cup not Russia, says Johansson
- Blatter faces calls to resign, as sponsors express ‘disappointment’
- Jack Warner spends night in jail after corruption arrest
- ‘Old bastards!’ Latin America delights in Fifa arrests
- Xenophon: Australia ‘treated like a mug’ over 2022 Fifa World Cup
