Fifa corruption arrests: Sepp Blatter 'quite relaxed' and confident he is 'not involved'
Fifa spokesman Walter de Gregorio described the president's reaction, saying: 'He is quite relaxed, he knows and it's confirmed today that he is not involved'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Fifa has been hit with two major criminal probes and seen its annual congress rocked by morning raids by the Swiss police.
But despite the accusations of "institutionalised corruption" from the US Department of Justice, the organisation's president Sepp Blatter is expected to be re-elected for a fifth term on Friday.
At a press conference in Zurich, Fifa's director of communications Walter de Gregorio told reporters the presidential election would go ahead as planned, describing it as "not related" to the unfolding corruption drama.
And speaking about any possible pressure on Mr Blatter, he said: "The president is not involved, so how can you say he has to step down? He was not involved."
Asked about Mr Blatter's state of mind, Mr De Gregorio said: "First of all he is focussed on congress, let's just say the stress factor is a little higher today than yesterday.
"But he is quite relaxed, he knows and it has been confirmed today that he is not involved."
Channel 4's Keme Nzerem pointed out to Mr De Gregorio that at any normal organisation hit by decades of scandal, the leadership would at some point be held to account.
He said he did not mean that Mr Blatter was "dancing in his office".
"He is just very calm and fully cooperative," Mr De Gregorio said. "He's not a happy man today, but he knows this is the consequence of what we initiated. It's a surprise it happened today, but not a surprise it happened."
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments