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 Addressing FIFA delegates at the body's annual Congress in
Switzerland, where members will later vote to decide the
organization's presidency, Blatter promised more transparency and
urged members to remain unified.
He also said that FIFA would probably not be facing its present
problems if Russia and Qatar had not been awarded the 2018 and 2022
World Cups, respectively.
"Today, I am appealing to unity and team spirit so we can move
forward together," he said, in a low key-address that contrasted
with his more defiant reaction on Thursday.
Blatter also sought to distance himself from the scandal, the
biggest crisis FIFA has faced in its 111-year history.
U.S. authorities have accused top FIFA figures and sports executives
of corruption, while Switzerland is separately investigating the
award of the next World Cup finals to Russia and Qatar.
"We cannot watch everyone all the time. We have 1.6 billion people
directly or indirectly touched by our game," Blatter said.
He recalled that the Russian and Qatar awards were announced
together in 2010 and "if two other countries had emerged from the
envelope I don't think we would have these problems today".
His opening address was briefly interrupted by a female protester
waving a Palestinian flag and shouting at Blatter before being
removed. The Palestinians are seeking to have Israel suspended from
FIFA at the Congress.
Blatter, who has been heavily criticized for not doing enough to
combat corruption in FIFA, is being challenged by Jordanian Prince
Ali bin Al Hussein for the most powerful job in soccer.
Anger within Europe's powerful regional soccer body UEFA and other
members over the damage allegations of bribery and corruption are
doing to FIFA is unlikely to be enough to topple the 79-year-old
Swiss, who is backed by the Asian and African confederations and
many Latin American states.
English Football Association chairman Greg Dyke said England would
support a possible boycott of the 2018 World Cup if Blatter was
re-elected president of FIFA.
But the numbers appear to be in Blatter's favor, despite some
countries saying they were switching allegiance and predicting that
the scandal would finish Blatter as FIFA chief.
Most of the developing world in Africa, Asia and parts of Central
America and the Caribbean are reluctant to vote for change in FIFA
leadership given that the organization guarantees them annual grants
and bonus payments in World Cup years.
Kuwait's Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, one of the most powerful
men in world sport, said Blatter is the right man for the job and
should be re-elected.
"FIFA should have a leader with a lot of experience," the FIFA
executive committee member told Reuters at Zurich's Baur au Lac
hotel, where seven FIFA executives were arrested on Wednesday.
On Friday, New Zealand Football said it would vote for 39-year-old
Prince Ali despite a previous unanimous commitment from countries in
the Oceania Football Confederation in January to back Blatter.
Canada also said it would not support Blatter.
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INVESTIGATIONS WIDEN
Nine soccer officials and five sports media and promotions
executives have been charged by U.S. prosecutors with corruption the
authorities said involved more than $150 million in bribes.
Swiss authorities also announced a criminal investigation into the
awarding of the next two World Cup tournaments, which are being
hosted in Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.
Both countries deny any suggestion of wrongdoing over their bids to
host one of the world's top sporting events, and Russian President
Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of meddling in an
effort to prevent the re-election of Blatter.
Adding to the pressure on FIFA and Blatter, there are growing
concerns from major sponsors, many of whom have solidly backed the
organization despite nearly 20 years of bribery and corruption
allegations.
German sportswear company Adidas said FIFA should do more to
establish transparent compliance standards. Anheuser-Busch InBev,
whose Budweiser brand is a sponsor of the 2018 World Cup, said it
was closely monitoring developments.
Credit card company Visa Inc urged immediate reforms.
"It is important that FIFA makes changes now so that the focus
remain on these going forward. Should FIFA fail to do so, we have
informed them that we will reassess our sponsorship," it said in a
strongly worded statement.
Coca-Cola Co, another sponsor, said the charges had "tarnished the
mission and ideals of the FIFA World Cup and we have repeatedly
expressed our concerns about these serious allegations".
The corruption scandal is unlikely to go away soon, as
investigations into wrongdoing widen.
A judge in Argentina ordered the arrest of three businessmen accused
of conspiring to obtain lucrative media rights contracts from
regional soccer federations through the payment of up to $110
million in bribes.
In Brazil, the Senate, led by former national soccer star Romario,
now a legislator, moved to open a formal inquiry into bribes that
authorities said were paid to obtain contracts with the Brazilian
Soccer Federation.
The Miami-based Confederation of North, Central American and
Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) president Jeffrey Webb,
who was among those arrested, has been provisionally dismissed from
his role, the confederation said on Thursday.
(Writing by Mike Collett-White and Giles Elgood; Editing by Peter
Graff)
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