Fifa President Sepp Blatter on Monday raised the stakes in the crisis gripping football’s world body by warning his critics they face prison if they cannot prove allegations he is corrupt.
Speaking at a press conference here just 11 days before the World Cup finals kick off, Blatter again denied allegations of cronyism and financial mismanagement contained in a report by Fifa’s Secretary General Michel Zen-Ruffinen.
The allegations are the subject of a legal action in Switzerland which has been backed by five Fifa vice-presidents and six other members of the organisation’s executive committee.
Blatter, who said he was confident of being re-elected at a Fifa meeting in Seoul on May 29, insisted he was not a criminal and said his critics had made a fatal mistake by going public.
”You will see what will be the outcome of the Swiss case. Those, who have made the allegations and cannot prove, they will go to prison.”
He said the executive committee had claimed that they were required to make the disclosures under Swiss law and that if they had not, they would have been implicated in the alleged wrongdoing.
Blatter said that was not correct under Swiss law. ”They should have gone through the Fifa family,” he said. Blatter said Zen-Ruffinen would have to quit as soon as the World Cup was over. ”Somebody who has done this internal work, like Brutus, how can he go on in this connection. He knows it. Its impossible.”
The Fifa supremo was speaking on his way to the 11-member Oceania Football Congress in Tonga where he hopes to rally support for his re-election bid.
He claimed to already have secured the backing of 115 national associations — enough to ensure him of a second term in a vote by Fifa’s 204 member countries and territories.
His only rival for the Fifa presidency, African Football Confederation (CAF) President Issa Hayatou, has been equally upbeat about his prospects. Fifa insiders are calling the vote too close to call.
Blatter vowed that he would, if re-elected, ensure that Oceania would have its own World Cup qualifying spot — a pledge Hayatou has also given.
At present the winner of the Oceania zone qualifying competition has to play off against a team from another region and no side from down under has made it to the finals since New Zealand in 1982. Blatter denied the proposed reform would mean automatic qualification for Australia, currently by far the strongest team in the region.
”Size does not matter, it will be an incentive for the others,” he said.
Blatter said an extra place had been created by Fifa’s decision to end automatic qualification for the World Cup winners. ”So we have one slot available, and it shall go to Oceania.”
On Saturday, before leaving for Tonga, Blatter issued a 30-page document rebutting the allegations against him and claiming he was subject to a smear campaign designed to prevent his re-election.
Hayatou is also bound for the OFC Congress in Tonga. He was in Dubai at the weekend where he renewed a pledge to increase Asia and the Arab world’s representation at the World Cup to five countries, at the expense of South America. – Sapa-AFP