That’s all from us for today, folks. Sepp still hanging on. A black day for football, or maybe any day that brings us a bit closer to the end of the contemptible hierarchy of this organisation is a good one. Here’s hoping.
Press conference ends in a little chaos with Blatter criticising journalists for their attitude and referring back to his time as a member of the fourth estate, when he says he played by the rules. After roughly half an hour of a press conference and subsequent questioning, we are no better informed than we were previously. A shambolic affair from the shambolic head of what has become a shambolic organisation.
This post from Times football writer Oliver Kay says it all:
“Blatter was just asked why he has allowed Fifa’s reputation to disintegrate on his watch. He jokingly looked at his watch. Beyond contempt.”
Blatter to the assembled media hacks: “I respect you. Please respect me. You’re not in a bazaar here. You’re in FIFA house.” To paraphrase the response of numerous tweeters: Bizarre, not bazaar.
1755:
Anti-FIFA organisation @changeFIFA expressing sentiments that could apply to every one of Blatter’s speeches throughout his career – Blatter: get to the point. You are insulting fans everywhere.
Crisis, what crisis? says Blatter, who then refuses to answer a perfectly valid and relevant question regarding Jerome Valcke.
Sepp regrets what has happened over last few weeks, damage to Fifa, etc, etc, blah, blah, etc.
Still, not saying a whole pile new.
But then he wouldn’t, would he?
As Blatter kicks into his press conference, there’s a new statement from Qatar about the 2022 process. “We are urgently seeking clarification from FIFA about the statement from their General Secretary,” the harrumphed in a statement. “In the meantime we are taking legal advice to consider our options.”
From Telegraph football writer Paul Kelso on Twitter:
“Genuine anticipation here. Don’t think anyone in this room certain what Blatter is going to do or say. Stick, twist or fold?”
Still no sign of The Mister appearing at the presidential plinth in Zurich.
Is he:
(a) busily rehearsing his excuses in front of a large, silver-studded mirror,
(b) still trying to get over the fit of the giggles from the “Team 33” debacle, or
(c) scratching his cloven hooves?
1705:
Blatter and the boys are about to take to the stage in Zurich for a sensational press conference. Sensational, in what he’s going to be asked, if not for what he’s going to say. Wouldn’t it be great if they all went down screaming? Sepp is a bit too much of a political mastermind for that, though.
Ken Early with a perceptive observation on Twitter.
“surely the key to effective bribery is do it privately & if you must group-bribe make the groups small. 25 x brown bags = asking for trouble.”
Spot the anti-Sepp sentiment in Egypt.
The Associated Press reports that the Al-Dustour newspaper described Mohamed bin Hammam as having “surrendered to the tyranny of Blatter,” while Al-Gomhuria called Blatter a “sly fox who cannot be easily hunted”.
Not that Warner and bin Hammam smell of roses, but if Blatter survives all this, then he’s the 21st century’s Rasputin.
American football writer Grant Wahl has posed an interesting question to his 94,000 Twitter followers:
“So Jack Warner’s strategy is: I’m clean, but now I’ll release incriminating information on others? Or is he just admitting he’s dirty?”
Qatar, meanwhile, has dismissed any suggestions that it was anything other than courteous and nice during the bidding process for the 2022 World Cup. (Although maybe something was lost in translation, and they misunderstood “bidding”?)
A statement reads: “Qatar 2022 categorically deny any wrong-doing in connection with their winning bid,” a statement released by a bid spokesman said.
“We are urgently seeking clarification from FIFA about the statement from their general secretary. In the meantime we are taking legal advice to consider our options.”
Good timeline of events from Mirror Football over at this link.
And for some longer reading, Sam Wallace over in the London Independent has a good read today.
Sample: “[The ruling by Petrus Damaseb, deputy chairman of the Fifa ethics committee] was delivered in the bloodless international legalese that Fifa revels in, with the cod politeness beloved of these bureaucrats. But at a stroke it wiped out the opposition to Blatter, already a shoo-in for his fourth consecutive term in office. The 75-year-old is the football administrators’ answer to Barcelona: whoever the opposition, whatever their reputation, he just seems to brush them aside.”
The Telegraph’s chief football writer Henry Winter tweets:
“Word of advice for @SeppBlatter…bring some credibility back to #Fifa by announcing a re-vote of 2022. Qatar choice always flawed.”
The Guardian’s investigative sports reporter, Matt Scott, has been tweeting:
“Jack Warner has accused #Fifa of all sorts. He is one of its most controversial figures but what he has to say is pretty compelling.
“For instance, Warner’s disclosure of a US$1m #Fifa grant for Concacaf, without any due process, 4 weeks before the election, is breathtaking.”
Breathtaking is one word for it, s’pose.
English House of Commons MP Damian Collins – he’s on Twitter @DamianCollins – has also released a statement calling for a change to Fifa governance. That’s over here.
An Australian senator, meanwhile, has indicted world football’s governing body in a statement entitled “Red Card for Fifa“. Australia spent the equivalent of €35 million on its bid to host the 2022 tournament, only to be surprisingly sunk by the Qatari campaign.
And Valcke has also found himself being dragged into the mess, having admitted that he sent an email to Warner in which he admitted that the 2022 World Cup, which will be staged in bin Hammam’s home country of Qatar, had been “bought”.
The damning passage of Valcke’s email read:
“I never understood why [bin Hammam] was running. If really he thought he had a chance or just being an extreme way to express how much he does not like anymore JSB [Blatter]. Or he thought you can buy FIFA as they bought the WC.”
Warner is a real bulldog – he’s held his own in verbal spats with Roy Keane in the past – and he was never going to take this lying down. And he’s come out fighting with allegations that Blatter made a gift of a $1m grant to CONCACAF (the organisation of which Warner is President and Blazer General Secretary).
A statement from Warner read:
“At the Miami CONCACAF Congress on May 3rd, Mr. Blatter made a gift of one million USD to CONCACAF to spend as it deems fit. This annoyed President Michel Platini who was present and he approached Secretary General Jerome Valcke complaining that Mr Blatter had no permission from the Finance Committee to make this gift to which Jerome replied that he will find the money for Mr Blatter.”
So here’s what we know so far.
- The election for the Fifa presidency is due to take place on Wednesday
- Asian Football Confederation (ABC) chief bin Hammam was the only opponent for Sepp Blatter, who’s eyeing up a fourth term, 13 years after his ascent to power
- Chuck Blazer, the, um, burly American who sits on Fifa’s ExCo, lifted the lid on alleged corruption, with claims that bin Hammam and Warner wrapped up neat $40,000 parcels for Caribbean Football Union (CFU) officials in exchange for voting for bin Hamman this week
- On Sunday, bin Hammam withdrew his candidacy due to the investigation
- Blazer insists that the evidence presented to him was impossible to ignore, so he had no hesitation in shopping his two fellow ExCo members
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