The European Parliament called Thursday on Sepp Blatter to step down immediately as FIFA president and allow for an interim leader to launch reforms in football’s governing body.
– #Quiz360: Thursday – WIN Vivitar Action Camera
– Sport360: NSL football launched to let youngsters shine
– Zabaleta: Failure not an option for Argentina
In a show of hands, members of parliament overwhelmingly voted for the resolution during a plenary session in Strasbourg, France. The resolution is not legally binding, but amounts to political pressure.
In the wake of a massive corruption scandal, Blatter, 79, tendered his resignation on June 2 but it will not take effect until December at the earliest.
In the text approved by parliament, legislators welcomed Blatter’s resignation that came just four days after he was re-elected as head of FIFA for a fifth term.
Anyone else wondering what happened that scared #SeppBlatter into resigning but wasn’t scary enough for him to do it with immediate effect?
— We Are Aerials (@weareaerials) June 2, 2015
But it expressed serious concern “that the credibility of FIFA, as world football’s governing body, and the urgent reforms required, cannot begin in earnest until a new leadership is appointed.”
Since that might not happen for another nine months under FIFA rules, the draft “therefore calls on FIFA to select, in a transparent and inclusive way, an appropriate interim leader to replace Joseph Blatter forthwith,” it added.
Football’s governing body was plunged into a crisis at the end of May when 14 current or former FIFA officials and sports marketing executives were charged in Zurich, Switzerland as part of a US investigation into alleged corruption.
The fallout led to Blatter’s resignation, but his replacement will not be known until December at the earliest, leaving the organisation in limbo in the meantime.
