UEFA President Michel Platini has accused FIFA President Sepp Blatter of "clinging on to power at all costs," claiming Blatter is standing for a fifth term on the basis of "a lie," according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. Blatter, who will stand against Prince Ali bin al-Hussein in Friday's election, told UEFA's Congress in '11 that he would "step down at the end of his current term." Platini claimed the 79-year-old was standing because he "feared for his future" outside FIFA and it was "not credible" to claim otherwise. Platini: "He is simply scared of the future because he has given his life to the institution to the point where he now identifies himself fully with FIFA." Platini "helped Blatter win his first term as president" in '98. After Blatter made clear he planned to stand for a fifth term "the pair have become increasingly estranged." Platini said, "Above all, I am disappointed for the European associations I asked to support Sepp in 2011, on the basis of a promise Sepp had made in person. It was more than a promise; it was a real commitment. He looked us in the eye and asked us to support him in what would be his last term in office. And now here we are again, as if none of it had ever happened" (GUARDIAN, 5/25). In London, Glenn Ebrey reported Prince Ali is the "sole remaining opponent" for Blatter in the FIFA presidency race, following the withdrawals of Luís Figo and Michael van Praag. Platini said that he believed that it was the "right time for new blood to be brought in and that Prince Ali was the best man for the job." Platini said, "I have the deep conviction that Ali, who I have known personally for years, could be a great president for FIFA" (LONDON TIMES, 5/25). REUTERS' Brian Homewood reported Blatter, who is
expected to be re-elected as FIFA president for a fifth term on Friday,
"likened himself to a Swiss mountain goat on Sunday, famed for their
stubborn endurance." Blatter: "I am a mountain goat that keeps going and going and going, I cannot be stopped, I just keep going" (REUTERS, 5/24).
MARADONA RIPS FIFA: In a column in the London Telegraph, Diego Maradona wrote in the last few decades, "football has changed -- and not for the better." Once, it was a sport "you could be proud of, a sport that united the world." But FIFA has "turned into a playground for the corrupt." Most football fans can "predict what I am about to say next:" under Blatter, FIFA has "become a disgrace and a painful embarrassment to those of us who care about football deeply." I call Blatter "the man of ice" because he "lacks the inspiration and passion that are at the very heart of football." If this is the face of int'l football, we are in a "very bad place" (TELEGRAPH, 5/24).
