Sepp Blatter should be replaced as president of 'corrupt' Fifa, says British government
The IndependentSepp Blatter should be replaced as the president of Fifa, which is a “deeply flawed and corrupt organisation”, the British government has said.- Share
Adam Withnall- 4 minutes agoWhittingdale, who speaks for the British Government on matters of culture, media and sport, said yesterday’s arrests of top Fifa officials on allegations of corruption were “shocking in both their scale and scope, but they were also far from surprising”.
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Adam Withnall - 5 minutes agoBreaking: The British culture secretary John Whittingdale has called on Sepp Blatter to stand down as Fifa president.
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Adam Withnall - 8 minutes agoThe FA chairman Greg Dyke has surprisingly said he thinks the Fifa presidential elections should go ahead tomorrow.Dyke and the FA have supported the challenger to Sepp Blatter, Jordan's Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, who is also standing on Friday.And Dyke told BBC Sport Blatter "has to go" to rebuilt trust in Fifa.
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Adam Withnall - 14 minutes agoAfter first Russian foreign ministry, then State TV, now Putin himself accuses U.S. of "meddling" in Fifa.May 28, 2015
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Adam Withnall - 14 minutes agoSepp Blatter's next scheduled appearance is an address to Fifa's 209 member federations at 5pm local time in Switzerland (4pm BST). It seems an event he is unlikely to miss, but the Fifa president has now skipped three public appointments while he deals with the corruption scandal.
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Adam Withnall - 16 minutes ago
Russia is complaining that the US wants to investigate football corruption
The IndependentRussia has accused the United States of applying legal force “far beyond its borders” following the US indictment against FIFA officials and their arrests.- Share
Adam Withnall - 17 minutes agoVladimir Putin has accused the US of meddling with Fifa's affairs and trying to take the 2018 World Cup away from Russia."This is clearly another case of illegal exterritorial use of US law," he said in a statement posted on the website of the Russian foreign ministry.
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Adam Withnall - an hour agoKia has joined other sponsors in responding to the scandal, saying it holds transparency as its "highest priority".It said in a statement: "As a company that places the highest priority on ethical standards and transparency, Kia Motors is extremely concerned about the legal proceedings being taken against certain Fifa executives and will continue to monitor this situation closely."
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Adam Withnall - an hour agoThe meeting of Fifa's medical officers has now begun in Zurich, without the usual presence of Sepp Blatter.Chief medical officer Michel D'Hooghe of Belgium told attendants: "President Blatter apologises for not being able to come today because of the turbulences you have heard about."
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Adam Withnall - an hour agoLennart Johansson, the longest-standing Uefa president in history and loser of the 1998 Fifa presidential election to Sepp Blatter, says he thinks the 2018 World Cup should be moved from Russia to England.Johansson, who led Uefa for 17 years before retiring in 2007, says that the decision to award the World Cup to Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022 should and will be changed."I expect they will reconsider the decisions. Blatter himself has said that the decision to go east wasn't proper. I am sure the initiative will now be taken to make a new decision," he said."[England] haven't had it since 1966, and it's considered 'the motherland of football', whatever we might think. They are worthy of the attention," Johansson said.
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Adam Withnall - 2 hours agoThe ten FIFA ex-co members who will be questioned today by Swiss authorities over Russia/Qatar. http://t.co/wHE7NKYzcP
May 28, 2015Delete- Reply
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Adam Withnall - 2 hours agoUefa, which consists of 54 of Fifa's 209 member nations, will decide at a meeting this lunchtime if it is to declare a boycott of Fifa's Zurich Congress, it has been reported.Uefa has called for a change of leadership at Fifa and says it wants presidential elections - due to be held at the Congress on Friday - to be postponed for six months.
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Adam Withnall - 2 hours agoSwiss cops will today question 10 of Fifa's Ex-co members who voted on Qatar & Russia, over "criminal mismanagement" and "money laundering"May 28, 2015
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Adam Withnall - 2 hours agoBritain's Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, has suggested Fifa's sponsors will be the ones to make the organisation enact sweeping changes.
Speaking about the pressure on Fifa president Sepp Blatter to stand down, Mr Hammond told Sky News a UK politician in the same position "would be struggling to cling on".
"There's no doubt, and there's been no doubt for many years, that Fifa needs to clean up its act," he said.
"There are millions, perhaps billions, of football fans around the world who want to enjoy the game, who want to know that the game is clean and who are repeatedly frustrated about these allegations about the way that international football is run.
"It looks very much like it's going to be the commercial sponsors who use their power to insist that this happens."- Share
Adam Withnall - 2 hours ago
Fifa corruption arrests: Uefa calls for presidential vote delay after probe
The IndependentEuropean football’s governing body Uefa has called for Friday’s Fifa presidential election to be postponed in the wake of dawn arrests at Fifa’s official hotel in Zurich over corruption charges.- Share
Adam Withnall - 2 hours agoUefa, the governing body for European football, issued a strong statement overnight putting pressure on Sepp Blatter and urging Fifa to postpone its presidential elections by six months.
Uefa said Wednesday's developments were "a disaster for Fifa" and called for a change of leadership. A statement added: "These events show, once again, that corruption is deeply rooted in Fifa's culture.
"The upcoming Fifa Congress risks turning into a farce and therefore the European associations will have to consider carefully if they should even attend this Congress and caution a system, which, if it is not stopped, will ultimately kill football.
"The members of the Uefa executive committee are convinced that there is a strong need for a change to the leadership of this Fifa and strongly believe that the Fifa Congress should be postponed, with new Fifa presidential elections to be organised within the next six months."- Share
Adam Withnall - 2 hours ago
Fifa corruption arrests: How Chuck Blazer rinsed money from the beautiful game
The IndependentHe was known as football’s Mr 10 per cent. Chuck Blazer’s reputation for serving his own needs alongside of those of his football paymasters was legendary.- Share
Adam Withnall - 2 hours ago
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Adam Withnall - 2 hours agoMeanwhile, Fifa President Sepp Blatter has pulled out of a third scheduled public appearance since the arrest of seven Fifa executives at their Zurich hotel yesterday morning.Mr Blatter was supposed to speak at the opening of the second session of Fifa’s Medical Conference at Zurich’s Hallenstadion this morning, but will not be attending for what his spokesperson called “obvious reasons.”
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Adam Withnall - 3 hours agoMcDonald's one of Fifa's most influential minor sponsors, has also spoken out.The restaurant giant said in a statement that it "takes matters of ethics and corruption very seriously and the news from the US Department of Justice is extremely concerning"."We are in contact with Fifa on this matter," it said. "We will continue to monitor the situation very closely."
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Adam Withnall - 3 hours agoIs Visa demanding Blatter's resignation? You decide: http://t.co/a1PsZTW7WOMay 28, 2015
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Adam Withnall - 3 hours agoCobus de Swardt, the managing director of anti-corruption campaigning group Transparency International, said the pressure was now on sponsors to make their influential voices heard."If you are putting many, many millions of euros into a business, then you definitely have a right and responsibility to demand that you are not tainted," de Swardt said.Wednesday's developments were a "wake-up call" for everyone involved with Fifa, de Swardt said, and must lead to changes including Sepp Blatter standing down from the organisation's presidential election."FIFA needs a new start," said de Swardt. "These scandals have taken place under Sepp Blatter's watch."
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Adam Withnall - 3 hours agoOther key sponsors Hyundai, Budweiser and Gazprom are yet to issue statements on the scandal, while Sony announced towards the end of last year that it would not be renewing its deal after eight years as a sponsor - during which it paid out around $280 million.
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Adam Withnall - 3 hours agoAdidas said it was "fully committed to creating a culture that promotes the highest standards of ethics and compliance, and we expect the same from our partners"."Following [yesterday's] news, we can therefore only encourage Fifa to continue to establish and follow transparent compliance standards in everything they do."
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Adam Withnall - 3 hours agoCoca-Cola said the corruption scandal had "tarnished" the World Cup. Revenues from the tournament, which takes place once every four years, account for more than 90 per cent of Fifa's funding.It said: "This lengthy controversy has tarnished the mission and ideals of the Fifa World Cup and we have repeatedly expressed our concerns about these serious allegations. We expect Fifa to continue to address these issues thoroughly. Fifa has stated that it is responding to all requests for information and we are confident it will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities."
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Adam Withnall - 3 hours agoVisa, one of Fifa's biggest sponsors, has threatened to withdraw its funding altogether.In a statement, the card company said: "Our disappointment and concern with Fifa in light of today’s developments is profound. As a sponsor, we expect Fifa to take swift and immediate steps to address these issues within its organization. This starts with rebuilding a culture with strong ethical practices in order to restore the reputation of the games for fans everywhere."Visa became a sponsor of FIFA because the World Cup is one of the few truly global sporting events with the power to unite people from around the world through a common love of football. Our sponsorship has always focused on supporting the teams, enabling a great fan experience, and inspiring communities to come together and celebrate the spirit of competition and personal achievement – and it is important that FIFA makes changes now, so that the focus remain on these going forward."Should FIFA fail to do so, we have informed them that we will reassess our sponsorship."
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Adam Withnall - 3 hours agoWe begin with the news that Fifa's major sponsors have begun putting pressure on the organisation in the wake of the unfolding corruption scandal.
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Adam Withnall - 3 hours agoWelcome to The Independent's live blog on the Fifa corruption scandal, rolling on into a second day following the launch of two criminal probes and a series of dramatic morning raids.
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Adam Withnall
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