Sepp Blatter has accused the US justice department of portraying Fifa like a mafia organisation while adding that he will reveal details of his abrupt decision to step down as president of world football’s governing body when he officially departs.
Blatter will leave Fifa after 40 years at the organisation following the presidential election at a special congress in February, having announced his departure just days after his re-election in June which coincided with the corruption scandal that engulfed the organisation and led to the arrest of 14 officials at a Zurich hotel.
Insisting that he would one day “tell exactly what happened” to prompt his resignation, Blatter labelled the investigation into Fifa as a “tsunami” and criticised the light in which the organisation was portrayed by the US attorney general, Loretta Lynch.
‘Have you seen the press conference by [US attorney general] Loretta Lynch? She stood there together with the head of the FBI, portraying Fifa as an enterprise that resembles the mafia. Whatever,” said Blatter, in an interview with the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant.
“Help me to find the truth. This tsunami. This shocking raid or whatever it was... There should be an investigation as to why this happened two days before the congress. Why were there journalists of The New York Times in the lobby of the Baur au Lac hotel at 6 o’clock in the morning? They had no reason to be there.”
Pressed on whether there was a specific incident that precipitated Blatter’s resignation, he added: “That is something I wish to keep to myself. What has happened, will be part of my legacy. It felt highly uncomfortable at the time.
“Anyhow, we are all survivors and I am sure that it has been the right solution for Fifa. It was a good solution. I did it to protect the institution and my family against the attacks on Fifa, not to protect myself. I don’t need any help when it comes to my personal integrity.”
