Suspended Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) President, Sepp Blatter, has accused the U.S. of being responsible for his current travail.
He said in London on Friday that all the issues surrounding allegations of corruption and his suspension by the world football’s governing body were politically-motivated and at the behest of the U.S.
Blatter was suspended as part of the fall-out from a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into bribery, money-laundering and wire fraud at FIFA.
The 79-year-old wanted to remain in his post until next year, in spite of a string of arrests of top FIFA officials, until a group of major sponsors issued coordinated calls for him to leave.
“It is the American companies,” Blatter told newsmen, referring to sponsors, including Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Visa, and Budweiser owner, Anheuser-Busch InBev.
“The other companies haven’t said anything, so, you are intelligent enough to make the connection with American companies and the American investigation.
‘’ I do not need to underline that,” he insisted.
FIFA, which Blatter ran for 17 years, is engulfed in the biggest scandal of its history, with 14 soccer officials and sports marketing executives indicted by the U.S.
Blatter and UEFA President, Michel Platini, are serving 90-day suspensions imposed by FIFA’s Ethics Committee, which is looking into a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.03 million) payment Blatter made to Platini in 2011.
The Blatter-Platini case is also part of a separate Swiss criminal investigation (Reuters/NAN)
