FIFA President Resigns Amid Soccer Corruption Scandal
ZURICH (CBS SF/AP)-- FIFA President Sepp Blatter resigned Tuesday from soccer's governing body amid a widening corruption scandal and has promised to call for fresh elections to choose a successor.
The 79-year-old Blatter was re-elected to a fifth term on Friday, two days after a corruption crisis erupted and seven soccer officials were arrested in Zurich ahead of the FIFA congress.
Speaking at a hastily-arranged news conference, Blatter said "this mandate does not seem to be supported by everybody in the world of football."
Blatter added that despite his re-election victory "FIFA needs a profound restructuring."
Shortly after the conference, the Swiss attorney general said Blatter is not under investigation by Swiss authorities.
Elections are expected to take place sometime between December and March.
Jordan's Prince Ali bin al-Hussein said Blatter's resignation as FIFA's president was "the right move."
Prince Ali ran against the 79-year-old Blatter in an election Friday. A first vote saw the 39-year-old prince lose 133-73 and he conceded defeat.
Prince Ali made the comments to CNN on Tuesday night, just after Blatter made his announcement.
Prince Ali repeatedly declined to say if he'd run again, saying "I am at the disposal of all the national associations who want a change, including all of those who were afraid to make a change."
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