FIFA’s embattled president, Sepp Blatter, and his second-in-command have hired high-powered lawyers to represent them as a corruption probe engulfs soccer’s global governing body with Swiss authorities identifying suspicious bank transactions.
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Mr. Bility on Thursday declare his intention to stand for the FIFA presidency, claiming the scandal-hit organisation needs a “great leader”.
The proposal will be discussed at an extraordinary FIFA executive committee meeting in Zurich on July 20 which is also when a date will be set for an election to find Blatter’s successor.
Blatter says he endorses a motion from German Football Association President Wolfgang Niersbach to introduce “independent integrity checks for all members of the most important FIFA committees”.
Niersbach has broached a subject that has so far been blocked by UEFA, of all associations.
U.S. prosecutors have not accused Blatter, who announced his resignation two weeks ago, of wrongdoing but his stewardship of Fifa is among the issues facing the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “Better late than never”, Blatter said.
He wrote: “Confederations must at the same time acknowledge their responsibility in matters of ethics”.
“The message (Niersbach) has thereby sent out must apply to everyone: only together can we continue to drive the process of reform forward”.
“If I have one reason to believe that Africa is not going to stand by me, I am not going to put up my candidacy”.
Blatter also believes Fifa’s 25-person ruling executive committee should be expanded to ensure Africa and Asia is better represented.
European members of FIFA led the campaign for Blatter to stand down, which he promised to do four days after being reelected last month as pressure from dual corruption investigations mounted.
Currently, each of FIFA’s 209 member associations has one vote in the presidential election, meaning that countries such as Germany and Brazil have the same voting power as very small nations such as Liechtenstein and Antigua. “And I intend to take the battle around the world and tell the world that ‘we have allowed you to run football – give it to us, let’s try it’”. However, they consider Valcke was concerned in $ 10 million in FIFA financial institution transactions which might be a key a part of the investigation, a supply stated in early June.
The world governing body confirmed that Blatter had recently retained Richard Cullen, the chairman of the law firm McGuireWoods, 24 hours after Switzerland’s attorney general warned that the 79-year-old could yet be dragged into his investigation into the biggest corruption scandal in sporting history.
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“However, I am reluctant to take places away from anyone; there should not be a redistribution of seats on the Executive Committee but a commensurate expansion of this body”, he said.
