FIFA President Sepp Blatter said of the arrests in May of seven FIFA execs, "I felt like a boxer who was just going into round 12 and said, 'I'm going to win.' But then: BONG!," according to Malcolm Moore of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The effect "was seismic:" although the FIFA presidential vote went ahead two days later, and Blatter was re-elected for a fifth term, he stepped down the week after, claiming he needed to "protect FIFA." In an interview with the FT, Blatter pinpoints the moment when FIFA's "troubles -- and his downward spiral -- began." He said, "It is linked to this now famous date: December 2, 2010," referring to the day he pulled Qatar’s name out of the envelope as host of the 2022 World Cup. Blatter: "If you see my face when I opened it, I was not the happiest man to say it is Qatar. Definitely not. We were in a situation where nobody understood why the World Cup goes to one of the smallest countries in the world." Blatter "then drops a bombshell: he did try to rig the vote," but for the U.S., not for Qatar. There had been a “gentleman’s agreement,” he says, among FIFA’s leaders that the 2018 and 2022 competitions would go to the "two superpowers" Russia and the U.S. While you can "physically remove Blatter" from FIFA's HQ, separating the man from the organization "he has built in his image for the past 40 years" -- first masterminding football programs in Africa, then becoming general secretary and finally president -- is a "tricky proposition." Blatter "freely admits that he is a monomaniac who cannot, and will not," stop thinking about FIFA. Blatter: "I am following very carefully what is happening in the office of FIFA. ... I am following everything. I cannot just say I switch off because I am not any longer in the office." Of suspended UEFA President Michel Platini, Blatter said, "Platini was an exceptionally good player. He is a good guy. He could be a good successor, yes. It was foreseen, once, that he shall follow [me]." Of the '11 payment from FIFA to Platini, Blatter said, "You do not need to have a contract written down [...] according to Swiss law. Handshake contracts are valid. The Anglo-Saxon system is not the same as the system here in central Europe" (FT, 10/30).
COMPLAINTS REJECTED: REUTERS' Kate Holton reported Blatter has "rejected complaints made by the sport's biggest sponsors over a bribery and corruption scandal." He said, "It is the American companies. The other companies haven’t said anything. So you are intelligent enough to make the connection with American companies and the American investigation. I do not need to underline that." The interview with the FT "is the second Blatter has given this week after he also spoke to Russian news agency TASS." Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy said of Blatter's claims that Sarkozy pressured Platini to back Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, "Here is another person thinking I have a lot of power. I didn't have this ambition ... but thank him for me." Blatter repeated his contention that the U.S. multi-million-dollar investigation was a "direct result" of the U.S. missing out on the right to host the 2022 World Cup. Blatter said, "It took a political dimension. I am looking now to see what were the political reasons. The easiest thing would be to say (they are) bad losers" (REUTERS, 10/30).
DAMNING REPORTS: SPORT24's Sy Lerman reported the "initial euphoria in South Africa" over Tokyo Sexwale's confirmation earlier in the week that he was standing as a candidate to replace Blatter as president of FIFA has "speedily been punctured with the effect of a sophisticated, but back-to-earth balloon." Sexwale "wasted no time" in departing for the Confederation of African Football congress in Cairo to "seek the African continent's overall support for his bid" after the South African FA "had earlier agreed" to throw its weight behind the former Gauteng premier, anti-apartheid freedom-fighter and "reputed billionaire business mogul." But CAF has taken a "stonewalling approach on the issue" and revealed it will study the claims of all the FIFA presidential aspirants who have approached it, among them Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan and UEFA Secretary General Gianni Infantino, before coming up with a final decision. At the same time, "highly critical revelations and comments on Sexwale's FIFA bid in a leading Johannesburg-based weekly newspaper have placed a more sobering aspect on his candidacy." Under the heading, "Why Tokyo Sexwale is wrong for FIFA," the paper writes that "Sexwale's past is littered with controversies involving secretive deals and problematic partners" (SPORT24, 10/30).
FRESH START: SKY SPORTS reported former FA Vice-Chair David Dein "called for FIFA to be disbanded" in the wake of Blatter’s claim that FIFA decided the 2018 World Cup would go to Russia before the bidding process was completed. Asked what happens next for FIFA, Dein said, "That's a big question and in my opinion, I would be very radical. I think FIFA's image is damaged beyond repair and I think it needs something radical. Personally, I think it should be dissolved. It needs to start again. It needs a fresh start. ... What about $20 million going to a FIFA movie which never saw the light of day? You tell that to the poor kids in the favelas in Brazil or the homeless in Haiti who could have had that money. It needs a clean start. What should happen is that FIFA should be dissolved, a new organization should be set up afresh, giving it a chance, giving sponsors comfort. The fans need it" (SKY SPORTS, 10/31).
CHAMPAGNE WEIGHS IN: REUTERS' Brian Homewood reported FIFA presidential candidate Jérôme Champagne said that "he wanted to reduce costs" by 5% across all areas except development programs. Champagne: "We can definitely save some costs on the administration and on the World Cup. The reconstruction of FIFA's image will be achieved only if there is a change of style, which is more open to the people, more accessible and to some extent more humble" (REUTERS, 10/30).
