Fifa president Sepp Blatter won’t be attending the women’s World Cup final in Vancouver this weekend.
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That decision follows the crisis engulfing FIFA with 18 people indicted in the United States on football-related corruption charges involving millions of dollars in bribes.
Fifa said in a statement that Secretary General Jerome Valcke also wouldn’t travel to Canada. The investigation prompted Blatter to announce his intention to resign just four days after being re-elected to a fifth term.
Blatter is a part of the widening investigation, American law enforcement officials have confirmed.
Critics took aim at FIFA on social media Tuesday after FIFA.com referenced American forward Alex Morgan’s looks in an article posted in advance of the United States’ match against Germany in the semifinals of the Women’s World Cup.
Blatter announced on June 2 he would step down from the FIFA presidency at an extraordinary congress to be held between December and March. He has denied the allegations, and U.S. prosecutors have not accused him of any wrongdoing.
Seven men, including two FIFA vice presidents, have been detained in Zurich and face extradition to the United States.
Investigations by USA and Swiss authorities include scrutiny of how Fifa awarded World Cup hosting rights to Russian Federation and Qatar for the 2018 and 2022 men’s tournaments. Switzerland’s attorney general, Michael Lauber, has said Blatter is not under suspicion but could be questioned.
The 68-year-old Hayatou has served on FIFA’s powerful executive committee for 25 years and was promoted to senior vice president as the committee’s longest-serving member following the death last year of Argentina’s Julio Grondona.
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“I like to accept correct and constructive criticism, but when someone says Blatter is corrupt, because FIFA is corrupt, then I can only shake my head”, he added.
