FIFA chief hits back at graft claims

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has vowed to launch a counterattack against those who alleged the organisation is corrupt unless they present hard evidence of wrongdoing, a report said yesterday.

He told Kyodo news agency that world football’s governing body would not tolerate baseless accusations.

“We will take action against those who brought this to public knowledge and they know it,” Blatter told Kyodo. “Let’s wait and see. I’m not a prophet on what will happen in the next days but something will happen.”

Blatter said FIFA still had yet to receive any evidence to back the recent corruption allegations made by former England Football Association chief David Triesman and the Sunday Times newspaper.

Triesman told a British parliamentary inquiry that four members of FIFA’s executive committee asked for favours in exchange for their votes during the 2018 World Cup bidding process.

FIFA has been beset by allegations of corruption in the run-up to its June 1 leadership election, when Asian Football Confederation president Mohamed Bin Hammam will challenge Blatter, who is seeking a fourth and final four-year term.

Blatter was visiting Tokyo to express support for Japan’s plans to host the 2011 Club World Cup as scheduled despite the devastation of the March 11 quake-tsunami disaster and the ensuing nuclear emergency.