Fifa says Blatter to seek fifth term despite arrests

Soccer's governing body Fifa called the arrest of six of its leading officials on bribery charges a "difficult moment" but said it would not derail President Sepp Blatter's bid to win a fifth term in an election on Friday.

At a news conference in Zurich, Fifa spokesman Walter De Gregorio struck a defiant tone, saying a criminal investigation into Fifa's awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was unrelated to the looming leadership vote.

He also said he expected those World Cups, scheduled to take place in Russia and Qatar respectively, to go ahead as planned despite suspicions of mismanagement and money laundering linked to the bids.

"It is certainly a difficult moment for us," De Gregorio said. "It is a hard time for us. But this is good for Fifa. It confirms that we are on the right track."

Asked if the election of the Fifa president would go ahead, he added: "There was never such an idea to postpone the congress nor the election, one thing has nothing to do with the other."

Several high-ranking soccer officials, including two vice-presidents of Fifa, were arrested by Swiss police on Wednesday and detained pending extradition to the United States.

Swiss authorities announced that they had opened criminal proceedings against individuals related to the two World Cup bids. The Swiss attorney general said the proceedings were separate to a US criminal investigation into the allocation of media, marketing and sponsorship rights for soccer tournaments.

Those arrested did not include Blatter, the Swiss head of football's multi-billion dollar governing body Fifa, but several officials just below him in the hierarchy of the wealthiest and most powerful sports body on earth.

"Russia and Qatar will be played, this is fact today, this is what I can tell you, not more not less," De Gregorio said.

He said that Blatter was "not dancing in his office" following the arrests but remained "calm" and was prepared to cooperate fully with investigators.

Blatter will be seeking a fifth term in charge of soccer's governing body in a vote on Friday, with Jordan's Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein the only other candidate for the post.  

Marketing executives

Nine high-ranking soccer officials, including two current vice-presidents of world governing body Fifa, and five sports marketing executives have been indicted on federal corruption charges, US law enforcement officials said on Wednesday.

The 47-count indictment unsealed in a federal court in New York charged the defendants with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies as part of a scheme that spanned more than two decades, the US Department of Justice said in a statement.

"The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States," US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in the statement.

"It spans at least two generations of soccer officials who, as alleged, have abused their positions of trust to acquire millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks," she added.

Seven Fifa officials, including current Fifa vice president and executive committee member Jeffrey Webb, were arrested by Swiss authorities on Wednesday and detained pending extradition to the United States, the department said.

The arrests were made shortly after dawn at a Zurich hotel where officials are staying ahead of this week's Fifa presidential election.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter was not among those arrested nor was he charged, according to Swiss and US justice officials.

Authorities also began executing a search warrant at the Miami, Florida, headquarters of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) on Wednesday morning, the department said.

Separately to Wednesday's arrests, four individuals and two corporate defendants have already pleaded guilty to various charges in the case, the department said. Three of the men had entered guilty pleas as early as July 2013, according to the department.   
 

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