Blatter re-elected amid scandals

ZURICH (AP):

Stung by allegations of mismanagement and corruption, Sepp Blatter held on to his spot as the leader of world soccer yesterday, winning a one-man election derided as a "coronation".

The 75-year-old Swiss, who has headed the sport virtually unchallenged for 13 years, struck a rare note of humility in a speech short on specifics that promised to reform an ethics committee and provide more transparency in decision-making.

"We have been hit and I personally have been slapped," Blatter told delegates to the sport's congress. "I don't want that ever again."

withdrawal

Blatter won a fourth four-year term as head of FIFA, soccer's governing body, by receiving 186 out of 203 votes in an election during the congress in which his was the only name on the ballot.

His sole challenger, Qatari executive committee member Mohamed bin Hammam, withdrew from the race last weekend amid bribery allegations.

The election capped a period of several months in which FIFA has been buffeted by a swirl of corruption allegations, bid scandals, internal infighting and match-fixing cases that have scarred the credibility of the organisation and the world's most popular sport.

The votes in December to award the 2018 World Cup toRussia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar sparked accusations in the British Parliament of bribes and other ethical misconduct among FIFA officials.

FIFA said this week there was no evidence to back up those claims.

Then, last weekend bin Hammam and FIFA vice-president, Austin 'Jack' Warner - two of the highest-ranking and most powerful men in the global game - were suspended pending a full inquiry into allegations of vote-buying in the Qatari's bid to unseat Blatter.

Cash bribes of $40,000 were allegedly paid to individual Caribbean football leaders to vote for bin Hammam.

Warner and bin Hammam denied wrongdoing and claimed the allegations - submitted to FIFA by American executive committee member, Chuck Blazer - were part of a plot by Blatter to wreck the Qatari's election bid.

England's FA chairman, David Bernstein, called for a postponement of the election for several months to allow for the corruption scandals to be cleared up, saying that "a coronation without an opponent provides a flawed mandate".

However, 172 of the 208 delegations rejected England's call.

promise of reform

After his re-election, Blatter immediately sought to prove that his promise of reform was no trick to turn the vote his way, but genuine signs of change.

"Reforms will be made and not just touchups, but radical decisions," Blatter said in his speech.

Blatter, who fulfilled his bold vision of taking the World Cup to Africa with last year's staging of the sport's marquee event in South Africa, now faces perhaps an even tougher challenge: restoring FIFA's battered credibility.

After denying there even was a crisis until late Monday - "What is a crisis?" - he was contrite yesterday, admitting he even personally had to talk to two top sponsors to assuage their concerns over sleaze and corruption.

"We will put FIFA's ship back on the right course in clear transparent waters," he said in French. "We will need some time. We cannot do it from one day to the next. It's a new challenge for me and I accept it."

In a major policy shift, Blatter said he would work to make sure that the awarding of future World Cup hosts would be decided in a vote of all 208 federations, instead of FIFA's 24 executive committee members, several of whom have been involved in bribery scandals.

The congress also endorsed his plans to revamp the ethics committee and bring in more transparency.

In addition, Blatter said he planned to appoint a woman to the executive committee, but again without voting power.

FIFA will meet again later this year to formally adopt the measures, by which time Blatter's intention for fundamental change should become clearer.