Agence France Presse
London, August 25: Sepp Blatter defended FIFA’s battered reputation Monday as the outgoing president insisted he is ‘clean’ and there is no systemic corruption at world football’s governing body.
Blatter will officially step down in February amid two criminal investigations into the allegations of bribery and corruption at FIFA.
Blatter, who has been FIFA president since 1998, was elected for a fifth term in May, but then shocked the football world by standing down as the corruption scandal intensified.
But the 79-year-old Swiss remained adamant he has done nothing wrong, claiming FIFA had been dragged down by the actions of ‘rogue individuals’.
“I know what I have done, I have my conscience and I know I’m an honest man. I am clean. I am not a worried man,” Blatter told the ‘BBC’ during an interview. “I did it (step down) because I wanted to protect FIFA. I can protect myself. I am strong enough.”
Asked if FIFA had corruption at its core, Blatter said: “That’s not true. This notion has been created. The institution is not corrupt, there is corruption with individuals, not with football.
“We have started with our reforms in 2011. It’s not the institution. That’s why I can’t understand when the world media, says FIFA is corrupt.”
Blatter also defended himself when quizzed about why he hadn’t exposed the behaviour of his FIFA colleagues. “The problem with FIFA is the composition of the executive committee,” he said.
“The executive committee is not elected by the same entity as the president. So now I have to take people, they’re not my people. And shall I be morally responsible for them? I cannot be. I can only put some hurdles so that it shall not be repeated. I cannot take the moral responsibility for the behaviour of these people,” Blatter added.