| Sepp Blatter |
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Joseph "Sepp" Blatter (born March 10 , 1936 in Visp , Wallis , Switzerland ) is the 8th and current president of FIFA . He was elected on June 8 , 1998 , succeeding Dr. João Havelange (Brazil). his Vice President is Chung Mong Joon BACKGROUND Born in the Swiss town of Visp, Blatter graduated from the Sion and St. Maurice colleges in Switzerland before gaining a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Economics from the Faculty of Law at Lausanne University . His long and varied career includes posts such as Head of Public Relations of the Valaisan Tourist Board in his native Switzerland, as well as General Secretary of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation. He was also Director of Sports Timing and Public Relations of Longines S.A. and was involved in the organization of the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games . Since 1975 Blatter has been working at FIFA, first as Technical Director (1975-1981), then General Secretary (1981-1998) before his election as FIFA President in 1998. He was re-elected as head of FIFA in 2002, defeating Issa Hayatou in the election, and was re-elected unopposed for another four years on 31 May 2007 even though only 66 of 207 FIFA members nominated him.1 CHANGES TO THE GAME MADE UNDER BLATTER
CRITICISM Marc Vivien Foe's Death The handling by Blatter of the death of Marc Vivien Foe on the pitch during the 2003 Confederations Cup has been heavily criticised by many within the sport. Blatter's comments in the days following the player's death, and his decision to allow the minor tournament to continue afterwards angered many within the game. Allegations of corruption Blatter's 1998 election to the presidency of FIFA over UEFA President Lennart Johansson occurred amidst much controversy.Denis Campbell and Simon Kuper, $1m 'fixed' the FIFA poll, author claims , The Observer Special Report, The Guardian Unlimited, March 21, 1999.Andrew Jennings, Havelange to Blatter, the dynasty based on corruption , ESPN.com Soccernet, February 28, 2002. His 2002's candidacy has also been marked with rumors of financial irregularities and backroom dealings, FIFA president Blatter accused of corruption , The Irish Times citing Reuters, 04-05-02. culminating with direct accusations of bribery made in the British press by the Farra Ado, vice-president of the CAF and president of the Somalian football association, who claimed to have been offered $100,000 to vote for Blatter. "The night before the election people were lining up in Le Meridien Hotel (in Paris) to receive money. Some told me they got $50,000 before the vote and the same the next day, after Blatter won". Bribery allegation over FIFA poll , CNN.com/World, February 28, 2002. Also in 2002, FIFA's general-secretary Michael Zen-Ruffinen, drew up a dossier outlining allegations of financial mismanagement within the organisation. Blatter could face corruption probe , BBC Sports, May 4, 2002. The dossier alleged that the collapse of FIFA’s marketing partner ISL had led to losses of up to $100m under Blatter's management. The allegations were backed by Johansson, Fifa sues Blatter , BBC Sports, May 8, 2002. and the dossier was handed to the Swiss authorities, but in the end no action was taken. Blatter cleared of corruption , swissinfo.org, December 4, 2002. Also, an internal investigation within FIFA was halted by Blatter, which was seen by many as proof of his guilt. Blatter suspends Fifa investigation , BBC Sports, April 12, 2002. Zen-Ruffinen was removed from office by Blatter immediately before the FIFA World Cup 2002 . Blatter set to sack critic , BBC Sports, May 30, 2002. In May 2006, British investigative reporter Andrew Jennings ' book ''Foul''Andrew Jennings, FOUL!: The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote Rigging and Ticket Scandals , Harper Collins Publishers. caused controversy within the football world by detailing an alleged international cash-for-contracts scandal following the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner ISL, and revealed how some football officials have been urged to secretly repay the sweeteners they received. The book also spoke of blatant vote-rigging that went on behind closed doors in the fight for Blatter's continued control of FIFA. This is an extract of a review made by David Goldblatt for the British paper The Independent and published on June 09, 2006: ''"Official FIFA business, always an opulent inter-continental affair, has spiralled to grotesque levels. The massively enlarged carbuncle of football bureaucrats, created by Blatter as a phalanx of kept support, have lived the high life. In addition to the five-star, business-class, black-Mercedes arrangements, all have been allowed a daily expenses rate of 500 euros, for which no receipts or accounts are required. Members of the executive committee were handed $50,000 honorariums. President Blatter's salary and accounts remain, despite repeated requests, a matter of complete secrecy"''.David Goldblatt, Kickbacks but no penalties , The Independent online, 09 June 2006. The publishing of the book in Switzerland was banned since Zürich-based FIFA sought and obtained a temporary injunction. Publisher challenges Fifa book ban , swissinfo.org, May 4, 2006. On a BBC Panorama documentary, 'The Beautiful Bung - Corruption and the World Cup' was broadcast on Sunday 10 June 2006, revealing mass corruption throughout the FIFA ranks and heavily implicating Blatter amongst others. 2006 FIFA World Cup During the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, Blatter's absence during the prize-podium events was noted and criticized in international media, as it was considered odd by many that FIFA's president was not present during the climax of FIFA's biggest event. Blatter also made the press for comments made after a controversial second-round match between Portugal and the Netherlands, which saw referee Valentin Ivanov issuing a record 16 yellow cards and four red cards. After the match, Blatter lambasted the officiating, and said that Ivanov should have given himself a yellow card for his poor performance as a referee.2 However, on the day when Ivanov turned 45, Blatter said he regretted his words and promised to officially apologise to Ivanov.3 |
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