Sepp Blatter gets further support, former FIFA Pesident Joao Havelange speaks out in support
The Brazilian born, Joao Havelange, has spoken in the support of the current FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, saying that the Swiss is innocent and it is only the people who are jealous of him. He mentioned that Blatter is the right man to take care of this
post and enthused that everyone should keep their mouths shut as the Swiss has now been cleared of all the allegations filed against him.
Blatter succeeded Havelange as the 8th FIFA President in June 1998. Before that, he was working as Havelange’s General Secretary since 1981. He was also awarded the Global award for Peace by the International Amateur Athletic Association.
The 75-year-old was accused of corruption and bribery within the federation along with the AFC President, Mohamed Bin Hammam. After detailed investigations, the Swiss was cleared but latter was found guilty and as a result got suspended. This suspension
led to a protest against Blatter with people demanding his suspension from the presidency. The riots continued for a few days but things settled down gradually.
95-year-old Havelange insisted that there are hundreds of personnel in the federation and everyone wants to take the seat of Blatter. He reckoned that people are jealous of him and that is why they want the President to be suspended.
He also confirmed that the Swiss would certainly retain his seat in the upcoming Presidential elections which are to take place on June 1. Havelange claimed that in spite of the allegations filed against his former General Secretary, there is no way that
Blatter could be replaced at this point in time.
The Brazilian concluded by saying, "Everyone is looking for mistakes because everyone wants to sit in that chair. Fifa has 208 member associations and it looks after every one of them. The competitions are taking place as usual and there is development in
every aspect of world football - financial, technical and in terms of discipline."
Havelange was FIFA’s 7th President and his 24-year spell finished in 1998.
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