Joao Havelange has quit as FIFA's honorary president while Sepp Blatter has been cleared of misconduct in the ISL bribery case, a report by FIFA's ethics committee said on Tuesday. The report described the behaviour of Havelange as 'morally and ethically reproachable' in his dealings with ISL, FIFA's former marketing partner which went bankrupt in 2001.
Ex-FIFA President Joao Havelange and his former son-in-law Ricardo Teixeira took multi-million dollar bribes on World Cup deals, Swiss prosecutors said in a legal document released on Wednesday, dealing a fresh blow to world soccer's ruling body.
Blatter said the recent World Cup in Qatar was emblematic of the larger issue affecting his sport: over-commercialization.
FIFA has strongly denied allegations of bribery and corruption made in the BBC television programme Panorama.
Some of the men who might be candidates for FIFA president.
Sepp Blatter, who will be 78 in March, hinted that UEFA president Michel Platini could succeed him even though the once-close relationship between the two has become strained in recent years.
The most expensive of the 12 stadiums built or revamped for the 2014 World Cup has a leaking roof less than eight months after it was finished, the stadium's operators said on Tuesday.
World soccer's governing body, FIFA, is expected to pass wide-ranging reforms at a Congress in Zurich next Friday, when a new president will also be elected.
Two goals from Arda Turan and one from Lionel Messi gave Barcelona a 3-0 win over Sevilla in the Spanish Super Cup second leg on Wednesday to seal a 5-0 aggregate victory.
IOC inspectors who visited last year warned that unless the pace of construction picked up soon, some arenas may not be ready in time to host test events ahead of the Games.
The United States Soccer Federation said in a statement on the new charges that its hosting of the 2016 Copa America Centenario tournament would go ahead as planned.
The committee also handed out a 90-day suspension to FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke, who had already been put on leave by the football body, and banned former FIFA Vice-President Chung Mong-joon for six years and fined him 100,000 Swiss francs (67,021).
The news comes as little surprise as Sepp Blatter had dropped strong hints he would stand again and if he sees out his potential four-year term he will be 83 by the time of the next planned election in 2019.
The spotlight at next week's FIFA Congress will fall on the presidential election - but the real key to the future of football's beleaguered governing body is embedded in a document with the unglamorous title 'Draft statutes - Congress 2016'.
A European-led boycott of FIFA or the World Cup is unrealistic.
UEFA president Michel Platini hit out at FIFA chief Sepp Blatter on Friday, saying the Swiss has stopped serving the cause of football.
Blatter may want business as usual, others say 'go now.'
Ex-South American soccer chief in FIFA scandal under house arrest.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances