Blatter waits on Fifa presidential vote as Dyke backs a Uefa World Cup boycott
Version 0 of 1. The Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, has admitted that this week’s wave of arrests and corruption allegations have “unleashed a storm” but improbably called for “unity and team spirit” as he appealed for a fifth term of office. The delegates of 209 national football associations are preparing to cast their votes later on Friday for the next president of football’s world governing body, in an election overshadowed by serious allegations of corruption made by US prosecutors. Greg Dyke, chairman of the English FA, one of football’s richest associations, threw his support behind the principle of a coordinated European boycott of the World Cup in Russia in 2018, but said it would need a consensus within Uefa in order to be a realistic option. Related: Fifa corruption crisis: Sepp Blatter delivers speech ahead of presidential vote – live Blatter, the embattled incumbent and favourite, has brushed aside calls to step down over the scandal. He addressed the Fifa congress after vowing to press ahead with presidential elections despite the seriousness of the crisis it faced. With his usual chutzpah, he appealed to the delegates to campaign against corruption, even as calls for fundamental reform grew and the organisation threatened to fracture. “Today, I am appealing to a unity and team spirit so we can move forward together. It may not always be easy but it is for this reason we are, today, to tackle the problems that have been created,” said Blatter, who is attempting to win a fifth term in office ahead of his Jordanian challenger, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein. “To solve them, this may not be possible in one single day, it will take some time. But we will do it.” The vote is expected at around 5pm UK time but a planned press conference with the winner has been postponed until Saturday morning. Related: Fifa presidential election: when is the vote and how does it work? Candidates can only win outright in the first round with the support of three-quarters of those eligible to vote. Prince Ali – who has the support of most European associations – reportedly believes that voters could switch sides and get behind him in a second round, once they see that Blatter is not set to win by a landslide. Few share his hope. Seven top Fifa officials were arrested in dawn raids at the Baur au Lac hotel on Wednesday and seven more were charged in the US over racketeering, money laundering and tax evasion. Brazil’s Fifa executive committee member Marco Polo del Nero fled Zurich ahead of the congress, following the arrest of his predecessor Jose Maria Marin. Del Nero’s departure means that four of the 25 members of Fifa’s executive committee will now be absent when they meet on Saturday morning. Key players in European football have threatened a boycott of the next World Cup. But they are outnumbered by Blatter’s supporters in Asia, South America and, especially, Africa. Blatter is popular in Africa, Fifa’s biggest voting bloc, for bringing its first World Cup in 2010 and using Fifa cash to fund hundreds of facilities for national associations across the continent. Related: How Sepp Blatter won the hearts and minds of Africa to ride out Fifa storms Amaju Pinnick, president of the Nigerian football association, said Blatter could not be held responsible for the actions of subordinate officials. “If you listen to [Blatter’s] speech yesterday, you will know what he said is he can’t monitor everybody,” Pinnick told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “All these people came into Fifa from their own various federations and confederations. “You cannot say a man is corrupt until he’s proven guilty.” Greg Dyke, chairman of the English FA, one of football’s richest associations, backed the idea of a coordinated European boycott of the World Cup in Russia in 2018. He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “What there is no point in is one or two countries saying, ‘We’re not going to take part,’ because they will carry on with the tournament without them and that is pretty unfair on the fans. “But if Uefa as a group said, ‘Look, unless you get this sorted we are not going to be in the World Cup,’ then I think that we would join them.” He also said he thought Blatter would survive. But he said the 79-year-old was irrevocably tainted and his fall was a matter of time. “I hope he doesn’t win, but if he does I think the events of this week have turned him into a diminished figure and I can’t see him lasting more than a year or two,” Dyke said. The Uefa president, Michel Platini, who on Thursday revealed he had asked Blatter to step aside, has refused to rule out a European boycott of Fifa if there is no change at the top. The Fifa congress has to deal with a significant amount of other motions before it gets to the vote for president, the 18th item on its 18-item agenda. The vote immediately preceding it is to decide whether Israel should be suspended from the governing body over its treatment of Palestinians. As protesters outside called for Fifa to take action over Qatar’s mistreatment of migrant workers building the infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup, Blatter delivered a rambling 25-minute speech in which he called for unity among the 209 associations that will decide his fate. “We are at a turning point. We need to pull together and move forward. We can’t constantly supervise everyone in football,” insisted Blatter. “You can’t just ask people to behave ethically just like that.” Following the first of his two speeches, the congress was briefly interrupted by Palestinian protesters backing the country’s move to have Israel banned from Fifa. “You have the power and the duty to change the face of Fifa. You have this power inside, you have it in your hearts,” Blatter told delegates. “This is a power you cannot buy on the market, this is the power of every single national association that is a member of Fifa.” In his speech, Blatter claimed that if Russia and Qatar had not been awarded the 2018 and 2022 tournaments then Fifa would not be under such scrutiny. On Thursday, the Russian president, Vladmir Putin, accused the US of meddling in a bid to undermine the 2018 World Cup. “On the 2 December 2010, here in Zurich, when we decided on the two World Cups in one session, if two other countries had emerged from the envelope we would not have these problems today,” he said. “But we can’t go back in time, we’re not prophets, we can’t say what would have happened.” That appeared to be a reference to the determined FBI investigation that led to this week’s raids and charges. The US was beaten to the 2022 World Cup by Qatar. Blatter, who has worked at Fifa for 40 years and been president for the past 17, said that this week’s events should be a “turning point” but simultaneously claimed that Fifa could not be held responsible for the actions of individuals. “Let’s repair what has been thrown down and let’s do it immediately right now. I appeal to all of you to join us, the executive committee and president,” Blatter said. “Join us to put Fifa back on the right track, where the boats will stop rocking and go placidly into port.” Blatter retains the support of most associations in Africa and Asia but his rival, Prince Ali, has claimed to have the support of at least 60 of the 209 voters outside Europe. Platini has predicted that 45 of his 53 voting members will back Ali, as will the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. If the voting goes to a second round, Ali’s camp hope that some of Blatter’s supporters will cross the floor. But the most likely outcome remains a Blatter victory, although if it takes a second round, he will be further wounded as the US and Swiss authorities continue their investigations. |