President of FIFA Announces He Will Step Down
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2015June 3, 2015
In a surprising development, the president of soccer’s Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has called for a special election for the office of president, after which he plans to step down from his position. Swiss official Joseph “Sepp” Blatter ran for president of FIFA, his fifth term, last Friday, just five days ago. At that time, he struck a somewhat defiant tone concerning the corruption scandal that had rocked his organization. FIFA is the organization that awards and sanctions such tournaments as the World Cup.
After years of rumor and speculation concerning corruption at top levels of the organization, last Wednesday, May 27, seven FIFA officials were arrested in Switzerland, just before the organization’s 65th Congress, on charges brought by U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch. The case centers around an alleged $150 million in bribes accepted by the officials. In addition, seven more FIFA officials were arrested on the same day in Miami at FIFA headquarters for the region of the Caribbean and Central and North America (CONACAF).
After Blatter’s election on Friday, the soccer autocrat claimed the arrests were part of a conspiracy to prevent his reelection and that the United States was biased because of its support for the nation of Jordan. (The candidate opposing Blatter in the presidential election was a Jordanian prince.)
Tuesday’s announcement that he would step down was held at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. Very few members of the press were there, as the announcement was given on very short notice. Blatter took no questions from the press after the announcement. Later, law enforcement officials in the United States confirmed that they are investigating Blatter on corruption charges.
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