Fifa president Sepp Blatter appeared to “step down” from his post before it emerged that his Twitter account had been hacked.
The Swiss posted several incriminating messages, with the official World Cup account also hijacked to “confirm” that he would resign “due to corruption charges”.
After nearly half an hour of increasingly unlikely statements, it was revealed that a group called the ‘Syrian Electronic Army’, supportive of the country’s leader, Bashar Al-Assad, had taken over the account.
The group has hacked several high-profile Twitter users in recent weeks to advance their political agenda.
Blatter’s account began by asking: “So what if I took money from Qatari prince? I am the family’s bread earner,” before declaring himself unrepentant.
“His excellency the emir of Qatar has been the most generous figure I have even met,” it wrote. “I do not apologize for my decision. I have done the best for Fifa. For almost 15 years I have toiled for this organization.
“I have recommended his excellency prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan as my successor. The royal family has done much for Fifa, I am sure Jordan will make an excellent host for 2030.”
The official World Cup account was made to announce: “Sepp Blatter has been investigated for multiple charges of bribery. Emails between the Qatari foreign ministry and Mr Blatter were found to conspire against some teams.”
Fifa have since confirmed the hacking via their media account.
“Some FIFA accounts, incl. @SeppBlatter and @fifaworldcup, have been hacked. If in doubt, please verify any info with FIFA office,” read a tweet.
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