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 The 79-year-old Swiss comfortably won Friday's vote at a FIFA
congress in Zurich, having secured the support of blocks of votes
from Asia and Africa which outweighed dissenters including Europe's
powerful soccer body UEFA.
He now faces the daunting task of restoring public faith in an
organization tainted by allegations of graft and deeply divided over
his leadership.
In an interview late on Friday, he showed few signs of wanting to
unite one of the world's most powerful sports bodies that takes in
billions of dollars in revenue from television marketing rights and
sponsorships.
"No one is going to take it off me that it was a simple coincidence
(that) this American attack (happened) two days before the elections
of FIFA," Blatter told the RTS Swiss television channel in an
interview.
"Why didn't they (the police) do this in March when we had the same
meeting? At that time, we had less journalists."
In a dawn swoop on a Zurich hotel on Wednesday, Swiss police
arrested seven leading soccer officials, including FIFA
vice-president Jeffrey Webb.
The arrests were connected to a bribery scandal being investigated
by U.S., Swiss and other law enforcement agencies that plunged FIFA
into the worst crisis in its 111-year history.
Blatter also singled out UEFA, whose president Michel Platini had
called for his resignation.
"It is a hate not only by one person of UEFA but by the organization
of UEFA that has not understood that I have been president since
1998," Blatter said. "I forgive everyone but I don't forget."
BLATTER'S EXPANDING POWER BASE
Blatter has not been implicated in any wrongdoing, but having ruled
FIFA for nearly 20 years during which it has regularly been subject
to suspicions of graft, his critics have argued it was time for him
to step down.
His supporters welcomed the outcome of a vote that pitted the
veteran incumbent against a sole challenger, 39-year-old Prince Ali
bin Al Hussein of Jordan.
"The AFC (Asian Football Confederation) has always supported the
FIFA President and we are happy to continue working with him and
FIFA to further develop Asian and world football into the future,"
Asian football chief Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said on
Saturday.
That support reflects Blatter's success in expanding FIFA's
membership away from soccer's heartlands and in exploiting
resentment in Africa and Asia over the perceived arrogance of the
game's powerhouse nations in Europe and South America.
Despite Blatter's re-election, the scandal surrounding the
investigations into corruption looks set to rumble on.
Platini has raised the possibility, albeit slim, of Europe
boycotting the World Cup tournament, soccer's showcase played every
four years.
There has also been talk of UEFA breaking away from FIFA, although
that is also seen as unlikely.
England's Football Association chairman Greg Dyke, another vocal
critic of Blatter, said the row within FIFA was unlikely to end with
Friday's vote.
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His vice-chairman David Gill confirmed on Saturday he would not take
up his post on FIFA's executive committee.
"The terribly damaging events of the last three days have convinced
me it is not appropriate to be a member of the FIFA executive
committee under the current leadership," he said.
MORE INDICTMENTS TO COME?
Blatter's future could yet depend on the reaction of FIFA's major
sponsors and stakeholders such as Coca-Cola and McDonald's who have
been dismayed by the arrests and U.S. prosecutors announcing
indictments of officials and companies.
A senior U.S. Internal Revenue Service official said on Friday he
thought there would be further indictments, the New York Times
reported, although he declined to identify the remaining targets of
the investigation.
Swiss prosecutors are investigating the award of the World Cup
finals to Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022, decisions that have
deepened rifts within FIFA.
The choice of Qatar, a small desert state where summer daytime
temperatures rarely fall below 40 degrees Celsius, was especially
contentious and went against the advice of FIFA's own technical
committee.
Russia and Qatar deny wrongdoing in their bids to host the
prestigious tournament, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has
accused the United States of meddling in an effort to force Blatter
out.
When asked after the vote if he could guarantee the next World Cup
would still be staged in Russia, FIFA's secretary general Jerome
Valcke told reporters: "Yes, yes. I mean now today, if you ask me
the question at twenty to eight, yes the World Cup will be played in
Russia and Qatar."
Away from the crisis engulfing soccer's administration, the under-20
World Cup got underway in New Zealand, and more than 25,000 people
turned up in Auckland for the opening game.
And preparations for the Women's World Cup, which opens in Canada on
June 6, continued with a friendly between the hosts and England
before a sellout crowd in Hamilton, Ontario.
"For these women, it is not about the money, it's about the game, it
renews your faith," said England supporter Kevin Mackowski. "And
it's good soccer, it's a truly beautiful game."
(Writing by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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