FIFA and the entire soccer world were shocked on this week when U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the indictment of 14 soccer officials and sports marketing executives on corruption charges that include bribery, fraud, and money laundering.
Even amid the wide-ranging international scandal, Sepp Blatter’s reelection on Friday to a fifth term as president of FIFA came relatively easily, with his opponent, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, conceding defeat after losing the first round of voting by FIFA’s congress 133 to 73. But the extension of Blatter’s time in office also comes at a difficult time for FIFA as an organization.
Blatter addressed the media and then took questions at a press conference Saturday in Zurich. His responses to reporters’ questions may not have been particularly revelatory, but the questions asked — almost exclusively by British media — neatly circumscribe the issues at play in FIFA’s current crisis.
1. Do the FIFA indictments by U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch doom the chances of a U.S.-hosted World Cup in 2016?
Blatter’s answer is a magnanimous “no,” but the perception that FIFA decisions are essentially political — when they’re not purchased outright — is what lies at the heart of the corruption accusations.
2. If so much corruption has allegedly taken place on Blatter’s watch, shouldn’t he have to resign?
Blatter cites his own reelection as evidence that the answer to that question is also “no.” But the fact remains that, even without facing formal charges, Blatter’s role in FIFA corruption is never far from mind.
3. What message does Blatter have for David Gill, Britain’s FIFA vice-president, who resigned Friday rather than serve on the FIFA executive committee with Blatter? Gill also refused to represent the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) as long as Blatter remains in charge.
Though Blatter was initially reserved in his answer, his closing statements criticizing how the UEFA polices itself for corruption — and chastising Gill for not showing up to Friday’s executive committee meeting — were more animated than any of his answers during the press conference. The indictments this week came on top of FIFA’s deteriorating relationship with its European confederation.
4. The U.S. indictment mentions that a senior FIFA executive authorized a $10 million bribe. Is Blatter the executive in question? If not, shouldn’t he at least have known about a deal of that size?
Blatter denies any knowledge of or connection to a $10 million bribe.








