ZURICH
— The worst corruption crisis in soccer history stems from the
governing body's decision to award Russia and Qatar the next two World
Cup tournaments, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said Friday.
Blatter
spoke at the FIFA congress hours before the presidential election in
which he is a seeking a fifth term. He has refused calls to resign after
FIFA was targeted by U.S. and Swiss authorities in separate corruption
investigations.
In
2010, Russia was chosen to host the 2018 World Cup and Qatar was
awarded the 2022 tournament amid widespread allegations of wrongdoing.
"If
two other countries had emerged from the envelope, I think we would not
have these problems today," Blatter said. "But we can't go back in
time. We are not prophets. We can't say what would have happened."
The
United States was one of the losing bidders for the 2022 World Cup. On
Wednesday, U.S. authorities indicted 14 people on bribery, racketeering,
fraud and money-laundering charges going back to the 1990s.
Seven
of the officials — including two serving FIFA vice presidents — were
arrested in Zurich on Wednesday ahead of the congress.
The
two criminal investigations have cast a new shadow on Blatter's 17-year
reign as president of FIFA. The 209 FIFA member nations will decide
later Friday whether to stick with the 79-year-old Blatter or vote for
Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan.
Amid
the dramatic build up to the election, UEFA president Michel Platini
appealed to Blatter to immediately step down — calls the president has
rejected.
"I
am willing to accept the president of FIFA is responsible for
everything but I would at least like to share that responsibility with
everyone," Blatter said in a presidential address on Friday morning. "We
cannot constantly supervise everyone in football ... you cannot ask
everyone to behave ethically."
Blatter also cautioned that "it will take some time" to rebuild FIFA's reputation.
"The
events of Wednesday have unleashed a storm and there was even
questioned whether this congress would be organized or change the
agenda," Blatter said. "Today I am appealing to unity and team spirit so
we can move forward together. That may not always be easy but it is for
this reason that we are here together today."
A
two-thirds majority would be enough for Blatter or Prince Ali to win
the secret presidential vote, or a simple majority in a second round of
voting. Just forcing the ballot to a second round could represent a
victory of sorts for Blatter's critics, denying the incumbent president
an emphatic mandate in his next term.
Blatter's opening address to the congress was briefly disrupted by a pro-Palestinian
activist, who held up a red card and shouted "Red card to racism." The
protest was to draw attention to a campaign that aims to stop
Palestinian players from being detained by Israeli security forces.
After calling for security, Blatter announced: "I would ask you to please check the access points of this room."
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