FIFA at the crossroads

FIFA stands at a crossroads today after the highest-ranking ‘civil servant’ in world football’s governing body claimed he had uncovered evidence of criminal corruption within the organisation.

Michel Zen-Ruffinen, FIFA general secretary, has so far refused to go into detail but says he expects FIFA’s executive committee to act on his findings.

Claiming ‘‘people had been bought’’, he also believes he has evidence that ‘‘misleading accounting practices’’ had been used in reports on FIFA’s financial health.

He told the post-meeting press conference: ‘‘It’s time for FIFA to clean up its house.’’

And the 42-year-old also intimated that unnamed individuals within FIFA have broken Swiss criminal law.

‘‘I will not go into the details,’’ he said. ‘‘But I mean corruption through which one or two people have been bought.’’

African football boss Issa Hayatou, the challenger to Sepp Blatter in the May 29 presidential elections, said: ‘‘After he (Zen-Ruffinen) had finished giving his report there was a silence like the wind.’’

Blatter, the focus of much discontent within the international organisation, has been given a week to respond to Zen-Ruffinen’s findings.

The two Swiss lawyers appeared together at the post-meeting press conference with Blatter claiming that they were on speaking terms again.

However, Zen-Ruffinen’s body language told a different story as the younger man avoided looking at his compatriot.

When asked if he could continue working with Blatter, Zen-Ruffinen replied: ‘‘The way we have worked so far - this is not possible.

‘‘I think I have played a hard card today concerning the changing of FIFA but I think that what I have said is right and I hope it is useful.’’

The general secretary appeared before the executive committee in a marathon 10-hour meeting during which he presented 30 pages of evidence.

Blatter had arrived ready for trouble with his personal lawyer in tow.

However, that support was soon lost as the executive decided to exclude all non-committee members.

The president was given a rough time, later admitting that unnamed vice-presidents had told him that it would be better if he resigned.

However, Blatter was still in confident mood, although he confirmed that he had been unable to give full answers to all of Zen-Ruffinen’s questions.

He said: ‘‘The general secretary had time to prepare it (his report). I couldn’t answer all the questions directly but I will do it next week.

‘‘The important thing is that at the end of this long, long session we have said we (Blatter and Zen-Ruffinen) should work together in interests not only of the president and the general secretary but the whole of FIFA because we have the World Cup and a FIFA congress.’’

Blatter did win a concession with the decision not to hear the report of the internal audit committee (IAC) until well after the presidential election.

The IAC, headed by Scotland’s David Will, was set up to investigate the state of FIFA’s finances following the collapse of marketing partner ISL.

It was suspended unilaterally by Blatter last month, with the 66-year-old complaining of a breach of confidence.

The suspension was lifted at the meeting but the IAC will not resume work until after the World Cup and will not report to the executive until the end-of-year meeting in November or December much to the frustration of Blatter’s opponents.

Korean Football Association president Mong-Joon Chung, who had to leave the meeting early, released a statement accusing Blatter of attempting to ‘‘thwart the investigation of the IAC’’.

Chung added: ‘‘I share with other members of the executive committee the grave concern that FIFA is facing the most serious integrity problem as an organisation since its foundation.’’

ISL’s bankruptcy has been the subject of much angst within FIFA.

Blatter puts the cost to the federation at around £22million while his opponents claim the real figure could be as much as 10 times that.

The president tried to close the book on the affair by announcing that FIFA has ‘‘equity’’ for 930 million Swiss francs.

However, that is a figure likely to be disputed by his opponents with Chung having claimed that has had to borrow money secured on future revenues from the World Cup.

The meeting did not reach a conclusion satisfactory to either faction.

As Blatter noted when asked why Chung as well as the Russian Viacheslav Koloskov had had to leave the meeting early, it is all a question of stamina.

All the president has to do is survive the three weeks until the election in credible shape, however with Zen-Ruffinen’s 30 pages weighing him down, the next seven days could be decisive.