By Samindra Kunti
June 1 – FIFA executive committee member Michel D’Hooghe from Belgium has added his voice to continued European criticism of Sepp Blatter following his re-election last week. Speaking on Belgian television D’Hooghe said “it’s high time for change” in FIFA and questioned his own future within the organisation.
The Belgian has been at FIFA since 1988. He is a long-standing member of the powerful executive committee and also heads the medical department. In the past D’Hooghe has admitted to accepting a painting from Viacheslav Koloskov, a consultant for Russia’s successful bid for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He notified FIFA about the gift, as it was in contravention with FIFA rules.
D’Hooghe had little influence on Blatter’s re-election. The Belgian FA, headed by Francois De Keersmaecker, backed Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan, who would ultimately withdraw with 73 votes after the first round.
“The European position is well-known,” explained the 69-year-old on a Belgian talkshow. “We thought it would be good to have a new wind blow through FIFA, because Blatter is already 79 and starts a fifth term. But we are subject to the democracy of the elections. I shook his hand out of courtesy.”
“I thought the tornado that struck FIFA would change some people’s mind,” continued D’Hooghe. “That maybe happened to a minor extent, but clearly [it was] insufficient to create a new majority.”
D’Hooghe will be questioned by Swiss authorities, who have instigated a criminal investigation into the bidding process and awarding of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively. He was one of the committee that voted on their awards. He is reconsidering his position within FIFA after the storm of criticism that the organisation has faced in the last few days.
“I have been shouldering the medical responsibility at FIFA for 27 years, but can not reconcile myself with the institution now I understand that there are a lot of corruption cases,” said D’Hooghe.
“But my conclusion is clear: I no longer want to participate in this situation. It’s high time that changes are made. If this atmosphere persists at FIFA, then I don’t have a place in it.”
“I’m going to wait what will happen in the next few days and what else will be revealed,” said D’Hooghe. “And the more we know, the better. I also think that if there is an abscess, that a bit of medication is not enough. You have to use the scalpel and cut it open.”
“Blatter also said that it is his job to clean up and I want to see how he does it,” concluded D’Hooghe. “I want the structure to be totally transparent.”
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