Sepp Blatter says he is clean, denies FIFA corruption
FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he is “clean” and that “there is no corruption in football,” in an interview with BBC's Richard Conway on Monday.
“I know what I have done, what I have not done, I have my conscience and I know I'm an honest man,” said Blatter, FIFA's president since 1998. “I am clean.”
FIFA and Blatter are under criminal investigations after seven FIFA officials were indicted by the United States government last May. Amid the investigations are controversies involving bribery and money laundering, which could potentially strip Russia and Qatar of their hosting privileges for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
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In the interview, Blatter insisted that the sport is better off than it was when he first became associated with it 40 years ago, and that the organization itself is upstanding.
“The institution is not corrupt, there is no corruption in football, there is corruption with individuals,” Blatter said. “It is the people.”
After being re-elected for his fifth term as FIFA president in May, Blatter, 79, announced his resignation from the organization six days after the indictments.
He is set to step down as president in February.
- Kayla Lombardo
