FIFA meltdown as Blatter probed over £1m payment

WORLD football’s governing body is in “meltdown” and has been “shaken to its very core” by new allegations against its embattled president.

It emerged on Friday that FIFA’s Sepp Blatter is the subject of a Swiss criminal investigation while ex-general secretary Jerome Valcke has been suspended following allegations of his involvement in a black market ticketing scheme.

The revelations have sparked incredulity from across the footballing world.

“Clearly FIFA is in meltdown,” Football Association boss Greg Dyke said. “This can’t continue.

“What matters now is the reform programme and how you change FIFA. There’s a group looking at reform whether they’re being radical enough we’ll know when we see their recommendations.”

One of the allegations against Blatter is over a suspected “disloyal payment” in 2011 of £1.35 million to UEFA boss Michel Platini, the favourite to succeed Blatter.

The payment was for work carried out by the Frenchman under a FIFA contract between 1999 and 2002. The FA is supporting Platini, who is not under investigation.

Dyke’s comments follow those of presidential candidate Prince Ali of Jordan who said FIFA has been “shaken to its very core” by the scandals.

Ali released a statement yesterday, the day after criminal proceedings were opened against Blatter.

The Swiss attorney general said Blatter is suspected of criminal mismanagement or misappropriation over a TV rights deal he signed with former Caribbean football chief Jack Warner in 2005.

Ali said: “We have to accept that changing FIFA is not a matter of choice. It has already changed, shaken to its very core by the scandals that have decimated our governing body and cast a cloud over the entire organisation.

“We have a duty to use our expertise, our experience, and our knowledge to lift that cloud by taking action to demonstrate that FIFA is worthy of the sport it oversees on behalf of the players, the fans and the millions of young boys and girls who can benefit from it.”

Chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, Gordon Taylor, said FIFA is not fit for purpose, insisting “if it was a school, it would be under special measures”.

Taylor said: “The biggest and best game in the world deserves better and it’s got to do better. There are enough ethical people out there to make sure the job’s done properly.

“We need to look at the people, transparency and governance. It needs a new broom, top to bottom.”

Blatter’s American lawyer Richard Cullen has insisted there had been “no mismanagement.”

He said: “We are confident that when the Swiss authorities have a chance to review the documents and the evidence, they will see that the contract was properly prepared and negotiated by the appropriate staff members of FIFA who were routinely responsible for such contracts, and certainly no mismanagement occurred.”