Just days after he was re-elected for an unprecedented fifth term as the president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter has announced that he is stepping down from his position.
Blatter said Tuesday that he will resign as president and call for an extraordinary congress session to elect his replacement. As Sam Borden of The New York Times noted, Blatter spoke about FIFA being in desperate need of reform.
Blatter: "FIFA needs a profound restructuring." He will stand down.
— Sam Borden (@SamBorden) June 2, 2015
Blatter: "Interests of FIFA are very dear to me and this is why I have taken this decision."
— Sam Borden (@SamBorden) June 2, 2015
The announcement came on the heels of a report that US prosecutors suspect Jerome Valcke, Blatter’s top lieutenant, of having been involved in a $10 million bribery scheme to secure South Africa’s bid for the 2010 World Cup.
While investigators have yet to uncover any hard evidence against Blatter in relation to the corruption charges that were recently filed, it is widely assumed that Blatter was — at the very least — aware of illegal activity that has been going on under his nose for years.
Per FIFA rules, it will be at least four months before a new president is elected.
