Sepp Blatter re-elected FIFA President

The 79-year-old Swiss official is serving a fifth term as the world football federation's top official, after a vote on May 29.

FIFA President has been under pressure for the past two days due to a corruption scandal. Photo: Reuters.

Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein announced his withdrawal from the second round of voting, giving victory to his only rival Sepp Blatter. The youngest FIFA vice president in history "waved the white flag" because he understood that he could not close the gap in votes with the current president. "Thank you all who were brave enough to vote for me. It has been a wonderful journey," Prince Ali announced his withdrawal.

Minutes earlier, the first round of voting results showed Blatter won overwhelmingly with 133 votes, while Prince Ali only had 73 votes. Blatter was seven votes short of the two-thirds majority, leading to a second round of voting.

This is Mr. Blatter's fifth time as FIFA president, since 1998. "Thank you. You must accept me for another four years. I am the captain of FIFA. Age is not a problem. There are people who are only 50 but look very old. Go FIFA, go FIFA," Mr. Blatter declared when he was re-elected.

Most European countries, plus the US and Australia, supported Prince Ali. However, representatives from Asia, Africa and South America largely supported Mr. Sepp Blatter. "What football needs now is a strong, experienced leader who understands everything related to it. We need to work with economic and political partners and I am the right person," Blatter clearly knows his strengths.

UEFA President Michel Platini congratulates Blatter. Photo: Reuters.

A bomb threat was made four hours before the vote. Swiss police later confirmed that everything was safe. The 65th FIFA Congress has been in the spotlight because of the scandal that broke on May 27. Six senior FIFA officials, including vice president Jeffrey Webb, were arrested by Swiss police on charges of taking $150 million in bribes since 1991. There are currently two investigations into FIFA. The FBI is investigating allegations of $150 million in bribes by six FIFA officials. The Swiss Justice Department is investigating whether there was fraud in the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Mr Blatter denied responsibility for the scandal. "I know many people point the finger at me. But I can't monitor people all the time. When they do something wrong, they try to hide it."

UEFA's next move will be watched closely. Michel Platini recently said UEFA could boycott the World Cup if Blatter is re-elected. An extraordinary meeting could be called within the next three months for UEFA member states to vote on whether to skip the World Cup.

According to VNE