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Sepp Blatter rallies support for FIFA amid Valcke scandal

September 18, 2015

FIFA President Blatter has insisted the football body would withstand corruption allegations after his deputy Jerome Valcke was suspended by FIFA over a corruption scandal. Valcke's lawyer has denied the accusations.

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FIFA President Sepp Blatter (L) arrives with Jerome Valcke, Secretary General of the FIFA, at the 65th FIFA Congress in Zurich, Switzerland, May 29, 2015 (Photo: REUTERS/Ruben Sprich)
Image: Reuters/R. Sprich

"Please be assured that FIFA remains confident of its ability to recover from the present difficult situation and to restore its reputation for the good of the game," FIFA President Sepp Blatter wrote in an email message to more than 400 staffers on Friday.

"I urge you all to continue your hard work to develop, promote and celebrate the game we love," he added.

Blatter's message comes a day after the scandal-tainted football governing body suspended its Secretary General Jerome Valcke, who is the subject of allegations over a scheme to sell 2014 World Cup ticket sales at higher than face value.

The football organization said in a brief statement Thursday that the 54-year-old Frenchman and Blatter's right hand at FIFA was "put on leave and released from his duties effective immediately until further notice."

Jerome Valcke during a press conference after a meeting of the FIFA Executive Committee, at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland (Photo: EPA/ALESSANDRO DELLA BELLA)
'Valcke unequivocally denies the fabricated accusations,' says a statement issued by Valcke's legal teamImage: picture-alliance/epa/A. Della Bella

FIFA said it had requested a formal investigation by its ethics committee over a series of allegations against Valcke.

Earlier on Thursday, a former FIFA ticketing partner made allegations about selling top-tier World Cup tickets at three times the tickets' face value. At a press conference in Zurich, Benny Alon, a former Israeli soccer player and marketing executive, alleged that Valcke had personally benefitted from the deal.

Pressure to reform

Pressure has been mounting on FIFA to introduce reforms in light of the organization's deepening corruption crisis.

The scandal was focused on 14 sports marketing executives and soccer officials, including several from FIFA, who were indicted by the United States in May on bribery, money laundering and wire fraud charges totaling over $150 million.

Seven FIFA officials were arrested in a dawn raid on a luxury Zurich hotel only two days before the FIFA Congress that saw Blatter re-elected. Blatter's replacement is set to be elected in an upcoming FIFA Congress on February 26.

A FIFA official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Valcke was in talks to end his multi-million-dollar contract prior to his suspension.

'Fabricated and outrageous' accusations

Meanwhile, Valcke's legal team has issued a statement on Friday denying the allegations.

"Jermoe Valcke unequivocally denies the fabricated and outrageous accusations by Benny Alon of alleged wrongdoing in connection with the sales of World Cup tickets," Barry Berke, Valcke's attorney in New York, said, adding that Valcke "never received or agreed to accept any money or anything else of value from Mr. Alon."

The statement said that all dealings between Valcke and Alon's company had been cleared by FIFA's legal department.

Officials, participants of a soccer exhibition under-16 tournament and spectators listen to Russia's President Vladimir Putin delivering a speech via a video link from Sochi, during a ceremony marking 1,000 days until the beginning of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, September 18, 2015 (Photo: REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev)
The 1,000-day countdown to the 2018 World Cup in Russia has begunImage: Reuters/M. Zmeyev

Countdown to 2018 World Cup

As FIFA reels under corruption scandals, including the one related to awarding the 2018 World Cup to Russia, Moscow launched its 1,000-day countdown to the tournament.

Moscow's high-ranking officials and football stars attended a colorful ceremony on Friday at the Red Square, which was transformed into a football pitch.

"Preparations for the World Cup in 11 cities of our country … are in full swing," President Vladimir Putin said by a video link from Sochi. "Everything will be done to suitably host the planet's leading 32 national squads."

Russian authorities deny any wrongdoing in the bidding process for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and insist that their status as host country should not be challenged.

shs/sms (AFP, AP)