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Blatter re-elected as FIFA president amid corruption crisis

Xinhua, May 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

Incumbent president Sepp Blatter was on Friday voted as FIFA's head after elections took place in the federation's headquarters in Zurich.

Out of the 209 votes cast by member associations, 206 were finally validated, with 73 going in favor of opposition candidate Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan, and 133 for Blatter.

As neither candidate reached two-thirds majority, the election was poised to go to a second round where a simple majority would have sufficed to clinch the presidency.

Al Hussein, the only challenger to the 79-year-old Swiss who was standing for a fifth consecutive term, decided against going for a second ballot and withdrew from the race, automatically giving Blatter the presidency for the next four years.

These results come amid tumultuous times for the football federation following the arrest of seven high-profile FIFA officials on Wednesday by Swiss police in Zurich on the request of U.S. authorities.

Blatter held an emergency meeting on Thursday to manage the crisis, which also saw a further seven being charged with allegations of corruption including fraud, bribery and money laundering.

Among those detained on Wednesday and pending extradition to the United States were top members of the South American Football Association (CONMEBOL) and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).

The Union of European Football Association (UEFA) head Michel Platini told press yesterday that he had asked Blatter to step down from his position in light of the crisis which hit the federation, something Blatter refused to do.

Platini also urged national associations to vote for Al Hussein, believing that it would be possible to oust Blatter who had been at the federation's helm since June 1998.

"Football is more than a game, what football needs is a strong and an experienced leader," Blatter affirmed in a speech he made prior to the vote.

He also called for the creation of a strong and robust FIFA following his victory, and the end of FIFA's 65th two-day congress has but reiterated Blatter's protracted clout within the federation. Endit