Sepp Blatter addressed the media on Saturday in a press conference that was at times contentious, a day after he was re-elected for a fifth term as FIFA president amid a corruption scandal that has rocked the organization he oversees.
The newly re-elected head of international soccer gave a speech at FIFA headquarters in Zurich following an executive committee meeting before being asked several direct questions about his involvement or oversight in the actions that led to nine FIFA officials being indicted on Wednesday.
(video courtesy of The Guardian)
Blatter insisted that he is not afraid of American authorities and stated that he has not been in contact with them.
"Arrested for what? Next question," Blatter responded to a reporter who asked if he was concerned about being arrested.
When asked about an allegation of bribery in exchange for the votes in favor of a World Cup bid for South Africa by then FIFA officials Jack Warner and Chuck Blazer, Blatter gave an elusive response.
"I don't go into [these] allegations," said Blatter. "If such a thing is under investigation, let it go and definitely that's not me."
The allegation contained inside the US Department of Justice indictment regarding the $10 million payment to Warner and Blazer, the latter of whom is said to have cooperated with officials in the investigations that led to Wednesday's arrests, maintains that the money was wired from a FIFA account to an account in New York controlled by Warner.
"This is a problem I do not enter," said Blatter. "We will not go further. The only thing I can say is I have no 10 million dollars."
The executive committee agreed that the status of Russia and Qatar as the next two World Cup hosts would not change, according to Blatter. While the US DOJ investigation is not looking into alledged bribery in those bids, a parallel Swiss investigation is said to be doing so.
"The Americans are making investigations. They have [the] right to do so. I have no concerns about my person," said Blatter.
Blatter also addressed questions regarding whether he would react negatively towards those within his organization who have publicly taking a stance against him, including most notably UEFA president Michel Platini, who led opposition against Blatter by rallying European votes against him, and US Soccer president Sunil Gulati, who announced he would not vote for Blatter and campaigned for Jordan's Prince Ali bin al-Hussein.
"I forgive everyone, but I do not forget," said Blatter.
