Blatter showered with paper money before unveiling FIFA reform plan
Xinhua, July 21, 2015 Adjust font size:
Sepp Blatter, president of Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) on Monday afternoon was showered with fake U.S. dollars when he was about to unveil FIFA' s reform plan at press conference.
FIFA' s executive committee Monday held extraordinary meeting to decide the date of the presidential election and discuss the organizational reforms.
At a press conference after the meeting, the 79-year-old FIFA head was interrupted by a comedian who threw dollars over him.
The "drama" was caused by British prankster Simon Brodkin, who has been taken into custody by Swiss police following the prank.
"I am still alive, waves of the tsunami have not taken me away," Blatter said after the press conference resumed.
As extraordinary meeting decides, an extraordinary elective FIFA congress is scheduled on February 26, 2016 in Zurich to elect FIFA' s new president.
Meanwhile, the executive committee also pushed for a range of important reforms to be submitted for decision during the upcoming extraordinary congress.
The proposed reform topics include enhanced centralized integrity checks for Executive Committee members, introduction of term limits, higher standards of governance at all levels of football structures, including confederations and member associations as well as individual disclosure of compensation.
Blatter, who led the FIFA office since 1998, will continue to carry out his functions until the new president to be elected.
Blatter was re-elected for the fifth time as FIFA president on May 29, just two days after former FIFA vice president Jeffrey Webb and six other FIFA officials were arrested in a raid requested by U.S. authorities for bribe allegation, in a luxury Zurich hotel.
However, four days after re-elected as the FIFA president, Blatter surprisingly announced that he would quit the position among corruption scandals. Endi