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Blatter Investigated by FBI, US Prosecutors for Corruption

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Published 3 June 2015
Opinion

Immediately after his resignation, reports emerged that Joseph Blatter was also being investigated for corruption and money laundering.

Various news sources reported late Tuesday that Joseph “Sepp” Blatter is being investigated by U.S. prosecutors and the FBI in connection with a FIFA corruption scandal involving US$150 million dollars in bribes and money laundering that has extended to at least 40 former and current officials of the international football governing body.

The reports started pouring in immediately after Blatter, a Swiss national who has been an important FIFA figure for decades, announced he was stepping down as president of the organization only four days after being re-elected for a fifth term in Zurich.

RELATED: FIFA Corruption

Reports of Blatter's investigation was also reported by The New York Times and ABC News, although Blatter has not yet been charged with any crime.

The investigation closed in on Blatter on Tuesday, when FIFA denied that his right-hand man, Secretary-General Jerome Valcke, was implicated in a $10 million payment relating to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa that is at the heart of the U.S. case.

FIFA has not commented on Blatter being under investigation.

RELATED: FIFA Fraud, Africa’s Corruption and Elite Silence

His decision to resign comes six days after police raided a hotel in the Swiss capital and arrested several FIFA officials.

Blatter announced an election to choose his successor would be held as soon as possible, but according to FIFA regulations the voting can not take place until at least December.

Rights and Wrongs of Blatter in FIFA

Sepp Blatter headed FIFA since 1998. During his presidency FIFA had been touched by allegations of corruption, including Blatter himself, but he also enjoyed widespread popularity which was demonstrated by his re-election five days ago.

But Blatter was also precursor of growth within the federation and was successful in increasing FIFA's earnings and using the resources to make football the most popular sport on Earth, although he also used millions of dollars to boost his image and popularity among FIFA executives.

When Blatter took over FIFA, the federation's revenue was approximately US$560 million, and last year, it was close to US$5.7 billion, according to AP.

“Blatter used the revenue to build soccer in underdeveloped parts of the world — and boost support for himself,” AP added.

According to FIFA's website, the federation has handed out about US$11.9 billion in financial assistance, and has helped fund 698 projects under its Goal Program and 3,844 technical activities.

He managed to take football to many underdeveloped countries and the World Cup to the African continent for the first time in history.

However, allegations of corruption were ever-increasing against FIFA and finally resulted in the arrests of at least 14 top officials and a widespread investigation to which the end is yet to be known.

Blatter also stirred controversy with unfortunate remarks such as recommending gay visitors to the 2022 World in Qatar to refrain from sexual activities because of the Arab country's laws against homosexuality.

And in 2004, Blatter suggested women should think about playing in tight shorts to attract more attention to the game.

FIFA President Hopefuls

"FIFA needs profound restructuring," Blatter said when announcing his resignation. "I decided to stand again to be elected because I was convinced it was the best option for football. Although the members of FIFA gave me a new mandate, this mandate does not seem to be supported by everyone in the world."

RELATED: Bye-bye Blatter: Latin America Relieved over Departure

"It was a difficult decision, a brave decision, and the right decision," said Michel Platini of Blatter's decision to step down. Platini is the European football federation chief Michel Platini, a French former international player and favorite to succeed Blatter as FIFA president.

The second favorite to succeed Blatter is Jordan's Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, who withdrew from last week's election after winning 73 votes to Blatter's 133 in the first round.

According to Reuters, another strong candidate is Jerome Champagne, 56, who is a former French diplomat. He worked at FIFA for 11 years and rose to the position of deputy secretary general before leaving in 2010.

He, however, pulled out his candidacy in the recent FIFA presidential elections because he did not attain the required five nominations.

Wolfgang Niersbach, a former sports 64-year-old journalist from Germany, could also aspire to the position. He began climbing within football's inner circles in the late 1980s when then West Germany hosted the 1988 European championships.

He is currently the president of the German Football Association and was elected to the FIFA executive committee this year and would bring a modern reformist approach to the federation.

Domenico Scala, a 50-year-old Swiss-Italian businessperson, has a good chance as well. He has been independent chairman of FIFA's Audit and Compliance Committee since May 2012.

In the meantime, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been pushing for Diego Armando Maradona's election to FIFA . Maradona is one of history's greatest football players, has been a long-time critic of Blatter and has openly supported Prince Ali to head the organization.

 
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