Sepp Blatter receives standing ovation from FIFA staff
Wednesday 3 June 2015 19:41, UK
Sepp Blatter received a standing ovation on his return to work a day after he announced he would resign as FIFA president.
Blatter was re-elected for a fifth term last week but on Tuesday - just four days later – he told a hastily arranged press conference that he would stand down when a successor was in place.
The 79-year-old addressed 400 staff at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich and received a standing ovation.
Sky News reporter Enda Brady said it was an emotional speech from the Swiss.
“This is a man who has held his position as president for 17 years, so many of the staff members going in this morning will know no other leader than Sepp Blatter,” said Brady.
“We saw them arriving for work this morning, FIFA employees and what they didn’t know then was there would be this hastily convened staff meeting in the exact same auditorium where Sepp Blatter announced his intention yesterday to resign.
“He called them altogether and I’m told he spoke to them for 10 minutes, but as he arrived to speak there was a standing ovation and I’m told it was quite lengthy.
“He spoke in emotional terms, it was quite moving, he told them about the future, what needs to happen and then he bade them farewell and that was that.”
Meanwhile, the football world is still waiting for the transcript of Chuck Blazer’s evidence to be released.
The former FIFA vice-president agreed to help the FBI after being approached by authorities over large unpaid tax bills.
His evidence helped build the case which resulted in the arrest of seven top FIFA officials last week – and may have contributed to Blatter’s decision to resign.
At some point tonight, the transcript of Blazer's evidence is set to be made public for the first time – over 18 months after it was first submitted.
Stay tuned to Sky Sports News HQ or follow our FIFA live blog to keep up to date with the latest developments.
