French soccer boss admits to have voted for Blatter (updated)

Noel le Graet, president of the French Football Federation (FFF), confirmed on Saturday to L'Equipe that he voted for Sepp Blatter in Friday's FIFA presidential re-election.

"I voted for Blatter," he said. "For me, it was the best choice between him and Prince Ali."

Amid tumultuous times for the world soccer governing body, Blatter, who has been at the helm since June 1998, won the presidency for another four years since the only challenger Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan withdrew after trailing 133-73 in the first ballot.

The 79-year-old Swiss faces a crisis of confidence after the arrest of seven high-profile FIFA officials on Wednesday by Swiss police in Zurich on the request of U.S. authorities, with allegations of corruption.

"Since we won the bid for organization of the 2019 women's World Cup, we worked very well with the employees of FIFA," Le Graet explained.

The French boss had told local TV "Europe 1" the same reason of his supporting Blatter before Friday's election, but modified to say he might need more thoughts on it after his compatriot and European soccer head Michel Platini asked Blatter to step down as FIFA president late on Thursday.

Platini told media in Zurich that he had asked Blatter to step down and urged national associations to vote for Al Hussein.

"Ali, if UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) had not voted for him, he would not have much of a voice," Le Graet, who had once said Platini could be the best choice for the presidency of FIFA, said on Saturday. Endi