By Andrew Warshaw
July 10 – Sepp Blatter has taken yet another swipe at his critics, once again distancing himself from FIFA’s damaged image caused, he says, by disgraced members of his executive committee for whom he insists he has no responsibility.
In his regular column in FIFA’s weekly magazine, Blatter says the upcoming election to replace him is a “sideshow” and that the really important issue is the need for urgent reform.
Among those shamed in the US corruption indictment were FIFA vice-presidents and exco members Jeffrey Webb and Eugenio Figueredo. Also charged was Costa Rican Eduardo Li, who had just been elected to the exco.
“The popular outrage concerning FIFA in recent weeks has mainly been directed at me personally,” Blatter wrote.
“I have no problem with this. I can defend myself. However, I would appeal for fairness: I bear no responsibility for members of a government (the exco) I have not myself elected.”
Just as he did in a newspaper interview this week, Blatter pointed the finger at the confederations who choose FIFA’s top brass.
“The FIFA president must work with the people allotted him by the confederations. I therefore also bear no responsibility whatsoever for the behaviour of these ExCo members on their home turf.”
Blatter has been using every opportunity to defend his record and said that while the “glaring spotlight” was on the election to replace him, especially in Europe, the future was far more important starting with the executive committee meeting in Zurich on July 20 which will determine the timetable for the presidential election.
“Filling the office of President is ultimately only a sideshow, albeit staged in a glaring spotlight. I hope the Congress is not blinded by this, because FIFA’s future is at stake, no more and no less.
“In European circles there is only one topic: the presidential election. However, the reforms we have not yet been able to implement are in fact more important. This requires a clear statement of intent on the part of the Executive Committee and Congress.”
Blatter also took the opportunity, not for the first time, to have a dig at UEFA and its constituent associations, suggesting they were lagging behind FIFA in the clean-up process. “To this day, UEFA has no ethics committee, and the German association has no ethics committee.”
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