The President of the Confederation of African Football, Issa Hayatou, has emerged as the acting President of the Federation of International Football Association. This followed the suspension for 90 days, of both the FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, and Secretary General, Jerome Valcke.
The position of the world’s football governing body was contained in a statement today by its Independent Ethics Committee.
The statement said: “Today, in accordance with FIFA’s Code of Ethics, Joseph S. Blatter was relieved of all his duties as FIFA President following the decision of the Independent Chairman of the Adjudicatory Chamber of the Ethics Committee to provisionally ban him from all football activities on a national and international level.
“Joseph S. Blatter, for the duration of the 90-day ban, is not allowed to represent FIFA in any capacity, act on the organisation’s behalf, or communicate to media or other stakeholders as a FIFA representative.
“As mandated by article 32 (6) of the FIFA Statutes, Issa Hayatou, as the longest-serving vice-president on FIFA’s Executive Committee, will serve as Acting President of FIFA.
“It was also announced that the Independent Chairman of the Adjudicatory Chamber of the Ethics Committee issued a provisional 90-day ban for FIFA’s Secretary General, Jérôme Valcke.
“This decision follows FIFA’s announcement on 17 September 2015, that the organization had put Jérôme Valcke on leave and released him from his duties effective immediately. On that date, FIFA requested a formal investigation by the Ethics Committee.
“All operational business matters will continue to be overseen by Markus Kattner, Acting Secretary General.”
Meanwhile, Issa Hayatou who has been the FIFA Vice President, has said that he would not run for the presidency of the world’s football governing body, saying in a statement that his determination was to see rapid growth of world football in his short stay at the helm of affairs.
“Today, amid extraordinary circumstances, I have assumed the office of FIFA President pursuant to Article 32 (6) of the FIFA Statutes. I will serve only on an interim basis. A new President will be chosen by the Extraordinary Congress on 26 February 2016. I myself will not be a candidate for that position.
“Until the Extraordinary Congress, I pledge that I will dedicate my best efforts to the organization, the member associations, our employees, our valued partners, and football fans everywhere. FIFA remains committed to the reform process, which is critical to reclaiming public trust. We will also continue to cooperate fully with authorities and follow the internal investigation wherever it leads.
“Football has never enjoyed greater support throughout the world, and that is something everyone associated with FIFA should be proud of.” [myad]
