Nigeria: FIFA Elections Won’t Be Postponed – Blatter

Daily Independent (Lagos)

30 May 2011

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has ruled out the possibility of the Wednesday presidential election been postponed saying it is the body’s executive committee that has the authority to do that.

He also confirmed that there will be no re-running of the voting process to decide who will host the 2018 or 2022 World Cups.

Blatter said that there was “no issue” with the 2022 World Cup, and also denied that there is a crisis in the game despite widespread allegations of bribery and corruption which have swept football’s governing body in the last few months. Though he agreed that a “great damage” has been done to world football’s governing body by bribery allegations.

“Football is not in a crisis,” said Blatter, who will stand unopposed for a new term as president on Wednesday.

“Football is in some difficulties and they will be solved inside our family.”

Earlier on Monday a leaked email from FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke referred to Qatar having “bought” the right to host the tournament in 2022.

But Valcke later claimed that he only meant that Qatar had used their financial muscle to lobby effectively, denying that he was referring to direct bribery, saying, “What I wanted to say is that the winning bid used their financial strength to lobby for support. They were a candidate with a very important budget and have used it to heavily promote their bid all around the world in a very efficient manner. I have at no time made, or was intending to make, any reference to any purchase of votes or similar unethical behaviour. I would also like to clarify that there is, as I said yesterday, no investigation open at FIFA regarding the 2022 FIFA World Cup host election.”

Yet a Press Association report claims that the news agency has seen a photograph of $40,000 cash bribes offered to voting members in exchange for their support.

Mohamed bin Hammam and Jack Warner were barred Sunday by an ethics committee from all FIFA business pending a full inquiry into allegations Caribbean football leaders were paid $40,000 each to back the Qatari’s now-abandoned presidential bid.

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