ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – OCTOBER 21: FIFA president, Sepp Blatter delivers a speech during a press conference held after the FIFA Executive Committee Meeting at the FIFA headquarters on October 21, 2011 in Zurich, Switzerland. During this third meeting of the year, held on two days, the FIFA Executive Committee has approved the match schedules for the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. (Photo by Harold Cunningham/Getty Images)

UEFA calls for postponing election, Blatter can’t leave Switzerland

While the soccer governing bodies trying to wrap their heads around the news from the past 14 hours or so, UEFA has decided to take a stand. UEFA and their 54 members are calling to postpone Friday’s FIFA Presidential election due to the events surrounding the FIFA corruption scandal. If the election goes as scheduled, it’s possible that UEFA may boycott the FIFA Congress and meetings this week.

UEFA is asking for the FIFA Congress and the election to be delayed for six months. In a statement, UEFA said, “Today’s events are a disaster for FIFA and tarnish the image of football as a whole. UEFA is deeply shocked and saddened by them. These events show, once again, that corruption is deeply rooted in FIFA’s culture.

It is expected that Sepp Blatter will overwhelmingly win re election over AFC President Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan.

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In other breaking news, Sky Sports News has reported that Sepp Blatter cannot leave Switzerland “until further notice.”

Right after this news broke, Blatter released his own statement and it’s just dripping of insanity. Blatter pretty much reiterates what was said in FIFA’s statement and added that it was HIS dossier that HE submitted to the Swiss authorities last year that started the investigation. Here is his statement in full.

“This is a difficult time for football, the fans and for FIFA as an organisation. We understand the disappointment that many have expressed and I know that the events of today will impact the way in which many people view us. 

As unfortunate as these events are, it should be clear that we welcome the actions and the investigations by the US and Swiss authorities and believe that it will help to reinforce measures that FIFA has already taken to root out any wrongdoing in football. 

While there will be many who are frustrated with the pace of change, I would like to stress the actions that we have taken and will continue to take. In fact, today’s action by the Swiss Office of the Attorney General was set in motion when we submitted a dossier to the Swiss authorities late last year. 

Let me be clear: such misconduct has no place in football and we will ensure that those who engage in it are put out of the game. Following the events of today, the independent Ethics Committee – which is in the midst of its own proceedings regarding the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups — took swift action to provisionally ban those individuals named by the authorities from any football-related activities at the national and international level. These actions are on top of similar steps that FIFA has taken over the past year to exclude any members who violate our own Code of Ethics.

We will continue to work with the relevant authorities and we will work vigorously within FIFA in order to root out any misconduct, to regain your trust and ensure that football worldwide is free from wrongdoing.”

I know that one aspect of good PR is to get in front of the story so you can control it instead of it controlling you. Blatter does try to do this. The problem is that he’s trying to get in front of a story by saying something that no one, except for his warped mind, actually believes. If it was true, he wouldn’t be quarantined in Switzerland.

Because we all need a laugh, here’s Sepp Blatter falling off a stage.

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @phillipbupp

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