Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter may be facing the heat from every corner but this 79-year-old Swiss administrator seems to be in no mood to take any of the charges levied against him lightly. He seems to be issuing media statements every other day and now he raises another burning issue, the reforms, and alleges there is no one in Europe who seriously cares about future of football, however, a lobby is systematically working round the clock to defame his reputation he earned in decades of service. He clearly said FIFA reform was just an excuse to debar him from world governing body. Notably, he surprisingly added and refused to take responsibility of any wrongdoing done by the others in terms of undue favor during election or otherwise. He intelligently starts making a ground for his defense if any of the arrested FIFA officials is proved to have done any favor in return of money or non-monetary benefits. This is noteworthy that Swiss investigators arrested some fourteen top FIFA officials in connection with corruption that has reportedly been taking place in supreme governing body since decades.
Later, these officials were taken to US for further interrogation and reports also came that Blatter could also be arrested after latest findings in the ongoing investigation. Anyways, for now, Swiss is not travelling to ‘risky’ zones to avoid arrest but he is not hiding himself behind the closed doors perhaps has been in the news every other day. Talking about the current situation, he said in his weekly column in FIFA Weekly, “In European circles there is only one topic: the presidential election. However, the reforms we have not yet been able to implement are in fact more important. This requires a clear statement of intent on the part of the executive committee and Congress. We need to change structures so they are above reproach.
“The popular outrage concerning FIFA in recent weeks has mainly been directed at me personally. I have no problem with this. I can defend myself. When we introduce a change to the Laws of the Game, it is immediately enforced and adhered to by everyone. Yet when the very same FIFA moves to implement an ethical code of conduct for the entire organisation, it is blocked by all the confederations with the exception of Asia.
“To this day, the UEFA has no ethics committee, and the German association has no ethics committee. Filling the office of president is ultimately only a sideshow, albeit staged in a glaring spotlight. I hope the congress is not blinded by this, because FIFA’s future is at stake, no more and no less.”