Blatter staves off no-confidence vote

Still in the ball game: Blatter believes he has answered his critics Keystone

The Swiss boss of football's world governing body, Sepp Blatter, appears to have held onto his job - for now.

After facing questions over the collapse of marketing partner ISMM/ISL at an emergency FIFA meeting in Zurich, Blatter said he was confident of remaining in office.

“There was no mention of a vote of no-confidence,” Blatter told journalists after Wednesday’s meeting.

“I am very confident I will be president at the extraordinary congress (in Buenos Aires in July),” he added. “I can’t predict the future but at the congress I believe there will be a better understading.”

There were, however, indications on Wednesday that not all of Blatter’s critics are satisfied.

Following the executive committe meeting, representatives from the European football body, UEFA, said that Blatter had provided answers to some questions but left others hanging.

“I don’t believe he (Blatter) answered all the questions,” UEFA chief executive Gerhard Aigner told reporters after leaving the five-hour talks.

“We got a lot of information but some questions will have to be answered in writing,” agreed FIFA executive committee member David Will.

Will added that he thought the matter would be concluded at the congress in Buenos Aires, where the bankruptcy of ISMM/ISL will be discussed further.

Blatter has been criticised for not moving faster to avert trouble with ISMM, which through its subsidiary ISL had a long relationship with FIFA. The collapse of the Zug-based marketing firm is estimated to have left debts of around $300 million unpaid, with Blatter conceding that the bankruptcy could cost FIFA up to $51 million.

swissinfo with agencies