Crozier prompts FIFA showdown

Football Association chief executive Adam Crozier provoked a showdown at FIFA’s congress today with a powerful speech claiming the reputation of football’s ruling body is in tatters.

Crozier said FIFA’s credibility had been severely damaged by recent events and warned of a looming crisis in its finances.

Ireland's Des Casey said the discussion over FIFA’s finances had become entangled with the election campaign.

He also described the process of borrowing money on the basis of expected revenue from the 2006 World Cup as ‘‘robbing Peter to pay Paul.’’

Casey added: ‘‘Mr President, in the words from the film The Godfather, it’s not personal - it’s business.’’

Crozier ended by calling for FIFA’s top official Michel Zen-Ruffinen to be allowed the floor - a move resisted at first by president Sepp Blatter until sustained booing forced him to change his mind.

Crozier said: ‘‘Realistically, FIFA has lost 470million Swiss francs (€322m) over the last four years. Realistically, FIFA has negative equity of 430million Swiss francs (€294m).

‘‘One thing is certain, it is not good news and it will get worse. We believe the future budgets are unrealistic - we do not believe costs can be cut by one billion Swiss francs (€634m) and do not believe that television revenue will be the same or greater for the next four years.’’

Referring to yesterday’s congress when Blatter appeared to rig a question-and-answer session in his favour, Crozier added: ‘‘Yesterday, we believe the credibility of FIFA was severely damaged in front of the entire world.

‘‘The governing body of football can only govern on trust, and that trust is clearly and fundamentally broken.’’

Zen-Ruffinen took to the floor and told delegates: ‘‘Certain payments have been made without the executive committee, the finance committee or the general secretary being informed. The general management of the organisation is not working - it’s very sad.

‘‘If you want transparency and democracy, these have to be two principles which are respected and not applied only in certain circumstances.’’

Earlier, Blatter announced the investigation into FIFA’s finances, which he suspended last month, will continue after the World Cup.

The internal audit committee will re-start its work after the finals have taken place. The decision came just a few hours before the vote for the presidential election, in which Swiss lawyer Blatter is standing against Issa Hayatou, the Cameroonian who heads the African federation.

There had been heated opposition to the role of the audit committee, in particular by Blatter’s supporters.

But Scotland’s David Will, the head of the audit committee, withdrew his opposition to agreeing FIFA’s budget with the provision the investigation could continue, Blatter gave his assent.

Blatter said: ‘‘The audit committee is once again in operation and it will resume after the World Cup as Mr Will suggested.’’

Will had said the committee had developed serious concerns about FIFA’s finances in the time it had been allowed to work.

‘‘We were told yesterday everything was fine, sweetness and light, and there are some of us deeply concerned this is not the case,’’ said Will.

‘‘FIFA should not be running for years with negative equity. It is only because - thank heavens - we are registered in Zurich as an association rather than a company that we are not legally bound to report ourselves in court as insolvent.’’