FIFA scandal latest: I won’t step down – Blatter


EMBATTLED President of world soccer governing body, FIFA, Sepp Blatter, has declared that he wont be stampeded out of office in spite of the latest probe he is facing from Swiss authorities.
While Blatter had resolved to hang on tenaciously to power, European soccer federation boss, Michel Platini dismissed the financial allegation against him as a none issue.
Platini wrote to all of UEFA’s 54 member associations in an effort to explain that the extraordinary £1.35m consultancy payment he received from FIFA President Sepp Blatter was a legitimate fee for four years’ work.
Blatter’s lawyer, Lorenz Erni, in a statement made available to the media yesterday insisted that his client had done nothing wrong and would as such not throw in the towel until early next year when FIFA elections would take place after an emergency extra ordinary congress.
Erni’s statement read in part: “President Blatter spoke to FIFA staff today and informed the staff that he was cooperating with the authorities, reiterated that he had done nothing il- legal or improper and stat- ed that he would remain as
president of FIFA,” Erni stressed that his client would not speak further on the matter since he is being investigated.
“Because of the continuing investigation President Blatter will answer no further questions at this time,” the lawyer stated.
Blatter had however defended the payments made to Platini, insisting they were not done illegally since Platini served as his advisor from 1998. “On the [Michel] Platini matter, President Blatter on Friday shared with the Swiss authorities the fact that Mr. Platini had a valuable employment relationship with FIFA serving as an advisor to the president beginning in 1998. He explained to the prosecutors that the payments were valid compensation and nothing more and were properly accounted for within FIFA including the withholding of Social Security contributions.”
It would be noted that FIFA had in the last one year been engulfed in corruption crisis that had equally consumed its secretary general Jerome Valcke who only last week was forced to step down. Top officials of the world soccer governing body, including senior vice president, Jack Warner, are to face prosecution in the United States of America.
Source: Sunnewsonline

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

US offers $7.6m for info on Mexican drug lord

Image
The US government is offering a $7.6 million reward for information leading to the capture of escaped Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. The acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Chuck Rosenberg, also says a tip-line for information about Guzman is being established. Guzman escaped from one of Mexico’s most secure prisons last month via a sophisticated 1.6 km-long tunnel that opened up in his cell’s shower. Mexican authorities have announced a $5.8 million reward for the drug kingpin, who’s believed to have a net worth of about $1.5 billion. Guzman was arrested in February 2014 in a seaside resort town after about 13 years on the run since his last prison break, in 2001.
Read more

'Car-in-a-bag' created in Japan

Image
A motorised transporter the size of a tablet computer has been developed by a Japanese engineer. The WalkCar can reach a top speed of just over 6mph (10km/h) and can support riders weighing up to 120kg (265lbs). Inventor Kuniaki Sato said the device was designed for recreational use as well as for business. He told Reuters: "I want to show the world that Japan can also be innovative." Mr Sato is hoping to secure crowdfunding before the gadget can be mass produced. Source: BBC
Read more

4 dead as typhoon lashes Taiwan

Image
Typhoon Soudelor pounded Taiwan with fierce winds and torrential rain Saturday, leaving four dead and dozens injured, state media reported. Fatalities included a girl, 8, and her mother, who were swept out to sea, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported. After Taiwan, Soudelor will churn across the sea to mainland China. It is forecast to weaken by then, but is still predicted to pack hurricane-strength winds when it makes landfall late Saturday.The girl’s twin sister is unaccounted for, it said. Soudelor made landfall north of the Taiwanese city of Hualien. Forecasters had predicted the storm would have maximum sustained winds at landfall of about 125 mph (200 kph), the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane. Authorities deployed more than 35,000 military personnel to relocate residents in vulnerable areas as the typhoon made its way across the Pacific Ocean. Parts of northern Taiwan have picked up more than 12 inches (300 millimeters) of rain in 24 hours, according to Taiwan’s
Read more