Sepp Blatter has been re-elected as president of Fifa، football’s world governing body، in a vote overshadowed by arrests and corruption allegations.
Mr. Blatter’s rival، Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan، withdrew after the first round of voting.
Mr. Blatter fell seven short of the two-thirds needed، but Prince Ali opted not to contest further.
The 79-year-old hailed his victory، thanking all those who voted from him and his rival، Prince Ali. Mr. Blatter said marking his victory; “I am not perfect، nobody is perfect، but we will do a good job together I am sure.”
He also hinted that this term in office، his fifth، could be his last، saying: “At the end of my term I will give up Fifa in a strong position.”
Blatter is elected as the president amid a corruption scandal that has rocked the organization and led to calls for the dismissal of longtime president. The resignation call has also been made from UK Prime Minister David Cameron، who said in Berlin on Thursday that the Fifa president should quit “Sooner the better.”
U.S. investigation has led to the arrest of leading FIFA officials on corruption charges. Seven top officials were arrested in Switzerland on Wednesday as part of a US prosecution that indicted 14 people.
However، Blatter blamed allegations of widespread corruption within football’s governing body on “a few” and called for those involved to be punished as FIFA works to rebuild its reputation.
His sole rival in the presidential contest، Jordan’s Prince Ali bin al-Hussein was the candidate put forward by England’s Football Association to challenge Blatter’s 17-year reign over world soccer. He is the head of the Asian Football Conference and a vice president of FIFA.
Addressing the 65th FIFA World Congress ahead of the vote، Blatter said he took responsibility for the current crisis — but that the organization was too big for him to monitor everyone in it.
“I’m willing to accept that the president of FIFA is responsible for everything، but I would like to share that responsibility with you،” he said. “We cannot possibly supervise everybody that’s in football.”
Source: BBC