|
 Klaus Stoehlker, who advised Blatter during this year's FIFA
election campaign, told Sky News that Blatter could remain head of
world soccer's governing body if a "convincing candidate" to replace
him did not emerge.
FIFA said in a statement that Stoehlker, who was in a meeting when
contacted by Reuters and unable to comment, was no longer working
with Blatter.
Blatter said on June 2 that he would step down as FIFA president. He
is under pressure to leave sooner rather than later as U.S. and
Swiss authorities widen investigations into bribery and corruption
at the organization. European Union lawmakers are among those
calling for his immediate departure.
Also on Monday, U.S. prosecutors revealed their plea agreement with
Chuck Blazer, showing that the former FIFA executive committee
member secretly provided authorities with information for nearly two
years before he admitted guilt in court in November 2013.
Blazer was the former general secretary of CONCACAF, soccer's
governing body in North and Central America and the Caribbean and a
FIFA executive.
FIFA underwent yet another blow to its prestige on Monday when the
Nobel Peace Center said it was ending its cooperation with the
governing body.
The center was behind the Handshake for Peace initiative, which had
been enthusiastically promoted by Blatter over the past three years.
As the international probe intensified, pressure mounted at the
Swiss body to stabilize its leadership. But Blatter has changed his
mind in the past. In 2011, he said his fourth mandate would be his
last but he stood again this year.
A Swiss newspaper on Sunday, the Schweiz am Sonntag, reported that
Blatter had received messages of support from African and Asian
soccer associations, asking him to rethink his decision to step
down. Blatter was honored by the support and had not ruled out
remaining in office, the newspaper reported, citing an anonymous
source close to him.
Africa's soccer confederation (CAF) said on Monday that it had not
heard of any of its members asking Blatter to stay on.
[to top of second column] |
"At CAF level we are not aware of any African countries who have
written to ask Blatter to stay on," Kalusha Bwalya, a CAF executive
committee member and president of the Football Association of
Zambia, told Reuters.
English Football Association chairman Greg Dyke does not think
Blatter will have a change of heart.
"I think it (a U-turn) is extremely unlikely. I think it would be
very controversial," Dyke told Reuters. "There would be a rebellion
amongst a lot of people (if he did)."
Insiders at the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) told
Reuters that European soccer's governing body was left perplexed by
the reports that Blatter would stand again and that the plot would
be too outrageous even for a Hollywood script.
Officially, European soccer's governing body did not want to
comment, but the German football association (DFB) called on
Blatter, who is staying on until the election, to leave quickly.
"We only know the media reports which strengthen our clear
position," spokesman Ralf Koettker told reporters. "Blatter's
announced resignation must be formally completed as soon as
possible."
Domenico Scala, the official overseeing the process of choosing a
new president, said that Blatter's departure was an "indispensable"
part of planned reforms to soccer's governing body.
(Reporting by Tom Miles, Mark Gleeson, Karolos Grohmann and Joshua
Franklin; Additional reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Writing
by Bernard Orr; Editing by Toni Reinhold)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
