Fifa corruption crisis: Sepp Blatter downplays US indictment Published duration 30 May 2015

media caption Sepp Blatter: "The congress are of the opinion that I am still the man to solve the problems"

Re-elected Fifa president Sepp Blatter has sought to downplay the US criminal proceedings launched against officials of world football's governing body.

Seven officials and associates were arrested in Zurich earlier this week, as Fifa gathered for its congress.

Mr Blatter, 79, described the issue as "infractions" involving a marketing company operating in the Americas.

He is not named in the indictment , and denies having anything to do with an alleged $10m (£6.5m) bribe.

Asked by a reporter at a news conference whether he authorised the payment allegedly relating to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, he said: "Definitely, that's not me."

And he again questioned the timing of the US prosecutors, saying his organisation "could have been contacted at another time" rather than just before its congress assembled.

"I don't see how Fifa should have been directly affected by this," he said.

Mr Blatter beat Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein of Jordan in Friday's election, and is starting his fifth four-year term as president.

image copyright Reuters

Analysis: Alex Capstick, BBC Sport, Zurich

It was almost business as usual for Sepp Blatter after defying the worst crisis in Fifa's history to win a fifth term as its president.

Addressing the international press for the first time since the latest scandal flared up in such dramatic fashion, he was calm and assured as he refused to accept that he was responsible for the culture of corruption which has damaged Fifa's reputation.

Convincing the sponsors has become a top priority, but with further indictments from the US investigation a distinct possibility, and the ongoing probe in Switzerland into the allocation of the 2018 and the 2022 World Cups, his problems are far from over.

Mr Blatter insisted that Fifa could move on from the crisis with him at the helm.

"It's no longer a storm, it's less strong at the moment," he said, adding that 132 nations had expressed confidence in him in the presidential vote. "I will continue to struggle and fight for good things."

In a sideswipe at European football's governing body Uefa, he criticised the body for not setting up an ethics committee along the lines of Fifa's own, to "set an example" to other, less wealthy and influential regional confederations.

Uefa's president Michel Platini had urged Mr Blatter to step down ahead of Friday's presidential vote, and Uefa strongly backed his rival for the post.

Prince Ali forced a second round of voting but then withdrew. Mr Blatter won 133 to Prince Ali's 73 in the first round, just short of the 140 votes needed for an outright win.

Mr Blatter was widely supported in Africa and Asia, and his re-election was welcomed by the hosts of the next World Cup, Russia - with President Vladimir Putin sending Mr Blatter a telegram of congratulation on Saturday.

media caption Sepp Blatter should have resigned says FA boss Greg Dyke

Earlier, speaking to Swiss TV station RTS, Mr Blatter condemned what he described as a "hate" campaign against Fifa by European footballing nations.

And he said he was "shocked" by the comments of US prosecutors following the arrests of the Fifa officials - one described the case as "the World Cup of fraud" and said that Fifa was being issued with a red card.

Mr Blatter said he suspected the arrests were an attempt to "interfere with the congress" at which he was re-elected. "I am not certain, but it doesn't smell good," he said.

He noted that the US had lost out in the bidding for the 2022 World Cup to Qatar while England, another major critic, had lost out to Russia for the right to hold the 2018 World Cup - and that the US was the "number-one sponsor" of the state of Jordan, Prince Ali's homeland.

US Department of Justice indictment:

14 individuals under investigation worldwide for allegedly accepting bribes and kickbacks estimated at more than $150m over 24-year period

Describes the corruption as "rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted"

Seven arrested in Zurich: Fifa vice-president Jeffrey Webb and his attache Costas Takkas, Costa Rica's national football chief Eduardo Li; Eugenio Figueredo, president of the South American football governing body; Venezuelan Football Federation president Rafael Esquivel; Jose Maria Marin, a member of Fifa's club committee; and Fifa development officer Julio Rocha

Others indicted include former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner

Several Fifa officials have already pleaded guilty - including Charles "Chuck" Blazer, a former member of the Fifa executive committee who has reportedly turned "supergrass"

The seven arrested officials are part of 14 indicted on charges of bribery, racketeering and money-laundering, involving tens of millions of dollars since 1991.

Ahead of Mr Blatter's comments on Saturday, US tax official Richard Weber told The New York Times he was "fairly confident that we will have another round of indictments".

Meanwhile, Swiss authorities have launched a separate criminal investigation into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments to Russia and Qatar.

European football associations will meet at next week's Champions League final in Berlin to discuss their next move.

Europe's seat at Saturday's meeting of Fifa's powerful executive committee was empty, as newly appointed representative David Gill confirmed he would not take up his post following Mr Blatter's re-election.

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