The Duke said: "There seems to be a huge disconnect between the sense of fair play that guides those playing and supporting the game, and the allegations of corruption that have long lingered around the management of the sport internationally." Prince William has weighed into the FIFA scandal. Credit:Reuters Last week, 14 FIFA officials, including seven of the organisation's most senior figures, were arrested at the request of the FBI as part of criminal investigations into bribes totalling $150 million. "The events in Zurich this week represent FIFA's Salt Lake City moment, when the International Olympic Committee went through a similar period of serious allegations," said the Duke. "FIFA, like the IOC, must now show that it can represent the interests of fair play and put the sport first." The Duke gave his support to the decision by David Gill, vice-chairman of the FA, to refuse to turn up for his first meeting on FIFA's executive committee after Mr Blatter's re-election as president on Friday.

"Those backing FIFA, such as sponsors and the regional confederations, must do their bit to press these reforms - we are doing football and its fans no favours if we do not," said the Duke. Britain's Prince William gestures as he stands with FA chairman Greg Dyke after the English FA Cup final between Aston Villa and Arsenal. Credit:AP The Duke helped spearhead England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup, which it lost to Russia. He was left "bitterly disappointed" in 2010 when England won only two of a possible 22 votes in the secret ballot. Russia's bid is now the subject of a Swiss investigation into FIFA corruption, along with the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. The Duke's intervention - which represents an unprecedented move for a senior member of the Royal family - came as world football appeared to be heading for a fundamental split over the continued influence of Mr Blatter as president of FIFA. Greg Dyke, the chairman of the FA, said most South American countries had joined Europe in voting against Mr Blatter on Friday, in opposition to his bedrock of support among Asian and African countries. Defiant as always: Re-elected FIFA president Sepp Blatter gestures during a news conference on Saturday after an extraordinary executive committee meeting in Zurich. Credit:Reuters

The former director-general of the BBC said that Mr Blatter's failure to win the support of football's two most influential continents was indicative of his vulnerable position. "What is interesting, so I am told, is that most of Europe voted against him and all of Latin America voted against him, so if it's true that means the two biggest football continents said 'we don't want you, Mr Blatter'. And those are the two continents that are the World Cup," he said. "Only the smaller countries would have voted for him because they rely totally on FIFA for their income. We, at the FA, we don't need FIFA. We don't need them at all. We can say what we like. And I understand he is now saying 'I forgive, but don't forget.' Well, let me tell him back, we neither forgive nor forget either." Promising to step up pressure on Mr Blatter to go, Mr Dyke said the FIFA president had suffered "a bloody nose" and claimed that despite his re-election his days were numbered. He said Mr Blatter's influence on many countries had begun to slip, with several feeling confident enough to speak out against him. "The really interesting thing about being at the FA is that he can do nothing to us. We don't need his money. We can say what we like. More will start doing that. The Dutch have been doing it and even the Germans have started saying it, which is unusual."

Mr Dyke predicted that Mr Blatter's fifth term as FIFA president would be short-lived, with US and Swiss prosecutors likely to find more evidence of corruption at the highest level of the organisation. "The reason why he won't last four years is because the prosecuting authorities in Switzerland and the United States will come up with a lot more. When the US Attorney General says this is the beginning, not the end, she is probably right." Mr Dyke said that Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, who forced a second vote for FIFA president, before withdrawing, had been "a stalking horse" for a more heavyweight anti-Blatter candidate in future. Speaking at Wembley, Mr Dyke confirmed that the FA would join a boycott of the World Cup, but only if agreed by the leading countries represented by UEFA, European football's governing body. It has emerged that US prosecutors are examining Nike's involvement in the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil as part of their investigations into corruption. Nike paid the Brazilian football association $160 million over 10 years as a co-sponsor and exclusive provider of boots and uniforms.

The US Justice Department's 164-page indictment, issued last week, is understood to allege that the sportswear company then made a separate payment of $40 million that was not part of the contract. Questions are now being asked as to whether US-based sponsors, such as Nike, Coca-Cola and McDonald's, will be allowed to continue funding FIFA while it remains an organisation under investigation for corrupt practices. There is speculation that such funding would be illegal under the US's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which is aimed at preventing the bribery of foreign officials. If such a major source of sponsorship funding was stopped it would effectively cripple FIFA. There is also speculation that similar legislation in Britain may have an impact on UK-based sponsors. The Telegraph, London