Blatter opens the 65th FIFA Congress
FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter inaugurated the event.
"The FIFA Congress, the supreme legislative body of FIFA, will meet at the Hallenstadion in Zurich for the 65th time in its history on Friday, 29 May, starting at 9:30 local time.FIFA.com will provide live video coverage of the whole day," the FIFA website said.
"These are unprecedented and difficult times for FIFA. The events of yesterday have cast a long shadow over football and over this week’s Congress. The actions of these individuals, if proven, bring shame and humiliation on football and demand action and change from us all. We cannot allow the reputation of football and FIFA to be dragged through the mud any longer. It has to stop here," Blatter said in the event.
He said: "I know many people hold me ultimately responsible for the actions and reputation of the global football community – whether it is a decision for the hosting of the World Cup or a corruption scandal. We cannot monitor everyone all of the time. If people want to do wrong, they will also try to hide it. But it must fall to me to bear the responsibility for the reputation and well-being of our organisation and to find a way forward to fix things. I will not allow the actions of a few to destroy the hard work and integrity of the vast majority of those who work so hard for football.I must stress that those who are corrupt in football are in a tiny minority, like in society.But, like society, they must be caught and held responsible for their actions."
Adding troubles to FIFA, Swiss police have arrested several of its officials from a hotel here on Wednesday.
In a statement,US Department of Justice said: "A 47-count indictment was unsealed early this morning in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, charging 14 defendants with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies, among other offenses, in connection with the defendants’ participation in a 24-year scheme to enrich themselves through the corruption of international soccer. The guilty pleas of four individual defendants and two corporate defendants were also unsealed today."
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