FAI chief John Delaney. Donall Farmer / INPHO
Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO
FAI CHIEF EXECUTIVE John Delaney has revealed that he will not be voting for Sepp Blatter in the upcoming Fifa presidential election and says the Swiss administrator should step down “for the good of the game”.
The 79-year-old is favourite to claim victory and run for a fifth term as the head of world football’s governing body after Luis Figo and Michael van Praag both withdrew their candidacies, leaving Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan as his only opponent.
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However, Uefa boss Michel Platini recently claimed that the sport will suffer if Blatter’s controversial reign continues and Delaney is of the same opinion.
“Regardless of the good he claims to have done during his tenure, he has to recognise that Fifa has an incredibly bad brand image,” Delaney told BBC Sport. ”We won’t be voting for him.”
Blatter did a U-turn after pledging to step down in 2011. AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
“If he was doing the right thing by football, which he says he cares and loves, then he should step aside and let somebody else come forward and improve the image of the world game,” added Delaney, who would like to see Platini in the role.
“Uefa’s image is very good, which is run by a good friend of mine Michel Platini. I can go to Uefa and ask ‘can we increase the Euros from 16 teams to 24′ which I did, they get that. You can talk to Uefa about 13 countries hosting the tournament 2020. It gets discussed and it gets done. But at Fifa you can’t.
“Blatter has had a hell of a run at it. But surely he knows, in his private moments, he must know, that outside of the voting chambers, that the world, the football public, the players and supporters, want change.”
“I have no problems telling anybody, telling the world now, that we will not be voting for Sepp Blatter. There is a permanent controversy at Fifa.”
'Fifa has an incredibly bad brand image' - Delaney calls for Blatter to step down
FAI CHIEF EXECUTIVE John Delaney has revealed that he will not be voting for Sepp Blatter in the upcoming Fifa presidential election and says the Swiss administrator should step down “for the good of the game”.
The 79-year-old is favourite to claim victory and run for a fifth term as the head of world football’s governing body after Luis Figo and Michael van Praag both withdrew their candidacies, leaving Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan as his only opponent.
However, Uefa boss Michel Platini recently claimed that the sport will suffer if Blatter’s controversial reign continues and Delaney is of the same opinion.
“Regardless of the good he claims to have done during his tenure, he has to recognise that Fifa has an incredibly bad brand image,” Delaney told BBC Sport. ”We won’t be voting for him.”
“If he was doing the right thing by football, which he says he cares and loves, then he should step aside and let somebody else come forward and improve the image of the world game,” added Delaney, who would like to see Platini in the role.
“Uefa’s image is very good, which is run by a good friend of mine Michel Platini. I can go to Uefa and ask ‘can we increase the Euros from 16 teams to 24′ which I did, they get that. You can talk to Uefa about 13 countries hosting the tournament 2020. It gets discussed and it gets done. But at Fifa you can’t.
“Blatter has had a hell of a run at it. But surely he knows, in his private moments, he must know, that outside of the voting chambers, that the world, the football public, the players and supporters, want change.”
“I have no problems telling anybody, telling the world now, that we will not be voting for Sepp Blatter. There is a permanent controversy at Fifa.”
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FIFA John Delaney Presidential Election Sepp Blatter top brass