Sepp Blatter has dropped the conciliatory tone adopted before Friday’s vote at world football’s governing body that saw him secure a fifth term as president.

In a scathing interview on Swiss television yesterday, Mr Blatter expressed shock at words uttered by US investigators who last week indicted several FIFA officials over corruption.

The 79-year-old Swiss also accused the British media of leading a hate campaign against him after England lost out to Russia in its bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

There was also a hint of self aggrandisement in Blatter’s words as he revelled in the fact that FIFA members had overwhelmingly elected him president for a fifth term. “I’ve just been elected for a fifth term, there can’t be that much wrong with me.”

It is this defiant attitude that has allowed Blatter to survive at the helm of FIFA for so long.

Malta Football Association president Norman Darmanin Demajo said corruption accusations have been hounding FIFA for almost 20 years.

“It seems FIFA has become immune to these allegations and I fear it will be just another day at the office for Blatter.”

The MFA chief supported the candidature of Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein of Jordan, who failed to dent Mr Blatter’s supremacy.

“Blatter may have not been involved in corruption but he was responsible for the lack of internal governance that led to this situation,” Dr Darmanin Demajo said.

FIFA is hounded by two separate corruption investigations led by US and Swiss authorities. The American investigation focuses on corruption allegations going back to 1991 and implicates several top FIFA officials who used influence to secure sponsorship and TV deals. US authorities issued indictments against 14 individuals, seven of who were arrested in Zurich last week, a day before the FIFA congress got under way.

The Swiss investigation concerns allegations of wrongdoing in the bidding process that awarded the World Cup to Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.

But Mr Blatter’s sure victory did not come as a surprise for Mr Darmanin Demajo.

“This was always going to be an uphill battle because Blatter is in control of FIFA and having been involved for almost 40 years he has deep roots and commands great loyalty,” the MFA chief says.

What was surprising though was Mr Blatter’s strong showing despite the arrests of FIFA executives days before the vote, which people in the Prince Ali camp assumed would have had an impact.

It seems FIFA has become immune to these allegations and I fear it will be just another day at the office for Blatter

It did not and Mr Blatter’s support in Africa and Asia ensured he carried the day as was the Russian government’s anti-American stand that could have split the European vote.

But why does Mr Blatter enjoy widespread support in Africa?

Dr Darmanin Demajo says this has nothing to do with African football needs. “African associations are relatively poor and unlike European ones will settle for much less and Blatter is perceived as having helped develop African football, having also delivered a World Cup there,” he says.

It is a sentiment shared by Adrian Delia, a lawyer, the recently appointed Birkirkara FC president.

He describes it an insult to football that the president of an organisation that is supposed to represent fair play and correctness did not resign despite the scandal developing around him.

“This same person is now promising he will solve the problems but this cannot be,” Dr Delia says.

But it pains him to see 133 countries still support a man who presided over an organisation riddled with corruption.

In the aftermath of the vote there was talk of UEFA, the European football body, pulling out of FIFA to protest Mr Blatter’s re-election. European football chiefs will be meeting next Saturday ahead of the Champions League final to discuss the FIFA outcome.

Dr Delia advocates UEFA taking “the strongest possible stand” not to be associated with a corrupt body.

“But before moving away, UEFA would need to know what alternatives exist and how best to handle the aftermath. It is not just about pulling out but also what comes next,” Dr Delia says.

Dr Darmanin Demajo disagrees. He insists UEFA has to show it believes in democracy and respect the wishes of the majority.

He says UEFA’s departure from FIFA will mean no European clubs will participate in the World Cup.

“This is the greatest implication and I hope this does not happen because I like the World Cup as it is. I have no problem with FIFA but with its leader. At 79 and after 17 years at the helm it was time for Blatter to go because he was unable to govern well.”

How the situation will develop still has to be seen and with Blatter yesterday warning UEFA it will lose influence within FIFA, the story may yet unfold over a very long period.

A World Cup without European countries will certainly constitute a blow to FIFA and football fans everywhere. But will such a drastic decision be enough to convince Blatter to go. After surviving for almost two decades, it could hardly dent him.

However, UEFA will also have to deal with internal dissent. With Russia and some of its allies taking a diametrically opposed view to UEFA president Michel Platini, the 53 European countries may not all rally behind him.

It is this division that has Mr Darmanin Demajo worried. “What I regret is the division that has been created within Europe and between Europe and the world.”

This is not what football is about, he adds. Blatter may yet agree.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com