After Putin, Now Sepp Blatter Slams US over FIFA Arrests

The re-elected president of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), Sepp Blatter, blasted at the tactics used by the US anti-corruption investigators, saying the arrest of sport body officials recently were timed to interfere with Zurich congress, a media report said on Sunday.

Seven out of 14 senior officials and sports marketing executives charged by the US prosecutors of corruption and bribery were arrested from their hotel in Zurich by the Swiss police on 27 May, two days ahead of the 65th FIFA Congress, in which Blatter won 133 votes against 73 from challenger Prince Ali al-Hussein.

Blatter said he was "shocked" at the way US authorities targetted football's world body and slammed what he called a "hate" campaign by Europe's football leaders, Xinhua news agency reported.

"No one is going to tell me that it was a simple coincidence, this American attack two days before the elections of FIFA. It doesn't smell good," said the 79-year-old Swiss.

"Why would I step down? That would mean I recognise that I did wrong. I fought for the last three or four years against all the corruption."

Russian President Vladimir Putin also expressed his anger on Thursday, saying the prosecution of FIFA top managers could be one way of the United States to "achieve its own selfish purposes".

The United States had lost the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, and England, another major critic, lost the 2018 World Cup to Russia.

Blatter said the US was the "number one sponsor" of Jordan, home of Prince Ali.

Blatter also hit out at UEFA president Michel Platini, who had taken the chance to appeal to Blatter to immediately step down and asked him to postpone the election.

"It is a hate that comes not just from a person at UEFA," he said, "it comes from the UEFA organisation that cannot understand that in 1998 I became president."