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US sponsors, lawmakers seek swift Blatter action
Just as US authorities said indictments of FIFA leaders were only the beginning of their investigation, US-based FIFA sponsors and lawmakers said Friday that Sepp Blatter's re-election only starts his work to rebuild trust
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ust as US authorities said indictments of FIFA leaders were only the beginning of their investigation, US-based FIFA sponsors and lawmakers said Friday that Sepp Blatter's re-election only starts his work to rebuild trust.
FIFA backers Coca-Cola, Budweiser and McDonald's called for quick moves to transparency while Visa let stand its demand for changes with the threat to withdraw if none are forthcoming.
And US Senator Charles Schumer demanded Blatter's first act as the reelected FIFA president be to make public the details of a self-ordered FIFA investigation by former US Attorney Michael Garcia, who called FIFA's self-produced summary of his report "incomplete" and filled with "erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions."
Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan lost Friday to Blatter in voting just two days after charges of fraud, bribery, money laundering and racketeering were made against several of FIFA's top executives.
Sponsors, whose financial backing provides the ultimate power and support for the global football governing body, showed willingness to let Blatter make good on his promise to act, but signaled they expected swift action and major changes.
"Our expectation is that FIFA will now act quickly, decisively and transparently to restore its reputation for both the good of the game and for fans worldwide who expect nothing less," McDonald's said in a statment. "The world expects concrete actions and so do we."
Transparency was also a keynote of Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev's statement.
"We expect the next FIFA presidency to resolve internal issues, install positive change and adhere to strong ethical standards and transparency," it said.
"Through our sponsorship, we have time and again seen the power of soccer in bringing people together and this is what FIFA must represent for football fans around the globe."
Blatter was told in no uncertain terms by sponsor Coca-Cola that the sense of violated trust will require transparency if he is to be seen as a credible agent of change.
"FIFA must now seize the opportunity to begin winning back the trust it has lost," Coca-Cola said in a statement.
"We urge FIFA to take concrete actions to fully address all of the issues that have been raised, in a swift and transparent manner."
Another US-based FIFA sponsor, Visa, decided not to release a new statement after demanding major changes just two days earlier when the indictments were revealed.
Only minutes after FIFA re-elected embattled Blatter to an unprecedented fifth term as president, Schumer demanded the Garcia report's release.
"Sepp Blatter's first act in new term should be to release the Garcia report. FIFA fans have waited long enough," Schumer said. "The public has a right to see the full Garcia report to fully understand what is going on behind the curtain at FIFA.
"With all we know now about FIFA's corruption, collusion, and cronyism, it's high time for this internal report to be released. If President Blatter doesn't release the un-redacted report he deserves a red card.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest kept US President Barack Obama out of the FIFA mess, saying, "This is a decision for that organization, that's now in some turmoil, for them to make, and we'll let them make it."
And US country music singer Brad Paisley reminded that many Americans aren't interested in Blatter's empire despite its prominence on US news and sports television, tweeting: "Boy all this corruption at FIFA seems just terrible. Awful. And if I only knew what FIFA was I'm sure I'd be really upset by it."
