Blatter: You can´t ask everyone to behave ethically just like that

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has again denied he is to blame for the corruption scandal that has rocked world football.

Nine FIFA officials were among 14 people indicted on Wednesday on charges of racketeering, conspiracy and corruption by United States authorities.

The revelations came two days ahead of FIFA’s presidential election, in which Blatter is seeking to secure a fifth term in office and see off the challenge of Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein.

Blatter has faced widespread calls to step down – including from UEFA president Michel Platini – in the wake of the crisis.

But, speaking in his presidential address at the FIFA Congress on Friday, Blatter said: “You can’t ask everyone to behave ethically just like that.

“I’m willing to accept that the president of FIFA is responsible for everything but I would like to share that responsibility.

“We are at a turning point and we need to pull together and move forward. We cannot constantly supervise everybody in football.

“We have 209 members and 300millon active participants, men and women. And with families, friends, we reach a figure of 1.6billion people that are directly touched.

“How can everybody take responsibility? There are limits on the pitch of the goal-lines, the sidelines, there’s a referee and a time limit. Outside the pitches there are no geographgical limits, no time limits, no referee.

“So who needs to supervise this situation? At FIFA we have controls through our reforms.

“We set up the ethics committee with two chambers. We have separations of power: I welcome the chairman of the appeals committee and the disciplinary committee.

“They are here with us today, so they need to be the ones that keep an eye on all these people – and that is impossible.

“It is not good for all this to occur two days before the election. I’m not going to use the word coincidence but I do have a small question-mark.”

Turning his attention to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, awarded to Russia and Qatar and unsuccessfully bid for by England and USA, he added: “If two other countries had emerged from the envelope, I think we do not have these problems today.”