SOCCER-FIFA/ARGENTINA-UPDATE Argentine soccer chief says FIFA's Blatter shouldn't have had to step down

Record ID: 150107

  • Title: SOCCER-FIFA/ARGENTINA-UPDATE Argentine soccer chief says FIFA's Blatter shouldn't have had to step down
  • Date: 3rd June 2015
  • Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (JUNE 2, 2015) (MUTE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF COMMUNIQUE FROM ARGENTINE SOCCER ASSOCIATION (AFA) WEBPAGE SAYING AFA WILL NOT BE INVESTIGATED
  • Embargoed: 18th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVACS0N72OSKZN1VI92C2QACFHMR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: As the FIFA scandal continues to rock the soccer world, the chief of Argentine soccer expressed regret Tuesday (June 2) that FIFA President Sepp Blatter was stepping down.
    The comments from Argentine Soccer Association (AFA) President Luis Segura comes on the day AFA announced it was not going to be included in corruption investigations being spearheaded by the United States Justice Department. Also on Tuesday, Blatter said he would step down as FIFA president even though he has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
    FIFA, which Blatter had led since 1998, was shocked last week after charges by U.S. prosecutors linked nine soccer officials and five sports media and promotions executives to more than $150 million in bribes.
    Speaking to reporters, Luis Segura, the president of AFA, said Blatter was taking the fall amid systemic malfeasance in the soccer world.
    "It (FIFA President Sepp Blatter's resignation) was a decision that shouldn't have had to have been made, given what was surrounding him. Look, I am not in Blatter's shoes. What I will say is that it was a choice with a lot of inconvenient facts surrounding him, and it didn't seem to me a good idea this took place. But it's happened and it's ended how it ended," he said.
    Argentina does have its own potential complications to deal with. According to Washington, Julio Grondona did receive bribes worth millions of dollars when he was the president of the AFA back in 2013.
    The larger-than-life soccer figure in the South American nation died in Buenos Aires in July, 2014.
    Segura said his predecessor's record is clean.
    "Look, Julio Grondona's situation is absolutely clear. The incomes that Julio managed are absolutely documented, they are registered with AFA (Argentine Soccer Association), and there's no problem there," he told reporters.
    AFA, for its part, has said it will respond to any official request as part of the investigations.
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