FIFA crisis: UEFA urges elections postponement, 11 officials banned

Tough times are ahead for FIFA, Playing for 90 has the lowdown of the latest news from scandal which has plagued world football’s governing body

Blatter: Time for FIFA to clean up

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has labelled the arrests of top officials as ‘unfortunate’ and has admitted that the organisation is in dire need to rid itself of corruption.

The United States Department of Justice, in cooperation with Swiss Police, executed arrests on seven FIFA officials yesterday, and face extradition to the US on charges related to corruption, fraud and money laundering.

Nevertheless, Blatter has insisted that it is time for world football’s governing body to clean up following corrupt conduct from his colleagues.

“This is a difficult time for football, the fans and for Fifa as an organisation,” Blatter wrote in a statement. “We understand the disappointment that many have expressed and I know that the events of today will impact the way in which many people view us.

“As unfortunate as these events are, it should be clear that we welcome the actions and the investigations by the US and Swiss authorities and believe that it will help to reinforce measures that Fifa has already taken to root out any wrongdoing in football.

“While there will be many who are frustrated with the pace of change, I would like to stress the actions that we have taken and will continue to take. In fact, today’s action by the Swiss Office of the Attorney General was set in motion when we submitted a dossier to the Swiss authorities late last year.

“Let me be clear: such misconduct has no place in football and we will ensure that those who engage in it are put out of the game. Following the events of today, the independent Ethics Committee – which is in the midst of its own proceedings regarding the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 Fifa World Cups – took swift action to provisionally ban those individuals named by the authorities from any football-related activities at the national and international level.

“These actions are on top of similar steps that Fifa has taken over the past year to exclude any members who violate our own Code of Ethics.

“We will continue to work with the relevant authorities and we will work vigorously within Fifa in order to root out any misconduct, to regain your trust and ensure that football worldwide is free from wrongdoing.”

In addition, FIFA has banned 11 officials following yesterday’s arrests.

Behind bars: Jack Warner.

“On the basis of investigations carried out by the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee and the latest facts presented by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the chairman of the adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee, Hans-Joachim Eckert, today banned provisionally 11 individuals from carrying out any football-related activities on a national and international level,” a statement on Fifa’s website claimed.

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“The decision was taken upon the request of the chairman of the investigatory chamber, Dr Cornel Borbély, based on art. 83 par.1 of the Fifa Code of Ethics.

“The banned individuals are: Jeffrey Webb, Eduardo Li, Julio Rocha, Costas Takkas, Jack Warner, Eugenio Figueredo, Rafael Esquivel, Jose Maria Marin, Nicolas Leoz, Chuck Blazer and Daryll Warner.”

UEFA calls for election postponement

Meanwhile, UEFA has called for a postponement to the FIFA presidential elections set to take place on Friday and has claimed that yesterday’s events will tarnish football’s image.

“Today’s events are a disaster for Fifa and tarnish the image of football as a whole,” a statement read. “Uefa is deeply shocked and saddened by them.

“These events show, once again, that corruption is deeply rooted in Fifa’s culture.

“There is a need for the whole of Fifa to be ‘rebooted’ and for a real reform to be carried out.

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“The upcoming Fifa Congress risks to turn into a farce and therefore the European associations will have to consider carefully if they should even attend this Congress and caution a system, which, if it is not stopped, will ultimately kill football.

“The Uefa member associations are meeting tomorrow ahead of the Fifa Congress. At that point, the European associations will decide on what further steps need to be taken to protect the game of football.

“In the meantime, the members of the Uefa Executive Committee are convinced that there is a strong need for a change to the leadership of this Fifa and strongly believe that the Fifa Congress should be postponed, with new Fifa presidential elections to be organised within the next six months.”

Corporate sponsors set to pull out

In addition, it seems that many of FIFA’s sponsors are looking to distance themselves from the under-fire organisation, with Visa and Coca Cola releasing statements overnight disassociating themselves from the governing body.

“It is important that FIFA makes changes now,” read a statement released by Visa. “Should FIFA fail to do so, we have informed them that we will reassess our sponsorship.”

“This lengthy controversy has tarnished the mission and ideals of the FIFA World Cup and we have repeatedly expressed our concerns about these serious allegations,” said the company in a statement.

Next: Top FIFA officials detained for corruption, facing extradition to the United States