FIFA president Sepp Blatter will not step down over the collapse of ISL and said 75 million Swiss francs ($42.18million) paid to FIFA's marketing agent by Brazil's TV Globo may have been improperly diverted.
"Unfortunately we had to ascertain that part of this money was used by ISL to pay for something else. This is not quite fair," Blatter told a newsconference today.
Lennart Johansson, president of European soccer's ruling body UEFA, demanded on Thursday that Blatter call an extraordinary meeting of FIFA'sexecutive committee to explain the impact of ISL's bankruptcy, hinting the president could face a no-confidence vote if he did not comply.
Blatter said he had received a letter from Johansson but had decided against calling an emergency meeting.
However, the executive committee of world soccer's ruling body will meet on June 12th and Blatter acknowledged he would be held responsible forany shortcomings over the ISL bankruptcy.
"I cannot stand down now because I am elected. Let's take it to the executive committee on June 12th -- they are the highest body at FIFA - andlet them decide.
"We are not in a crisis. We are in a challenging situation that we have to master. A crisis is when you don't know what to do - so far, so good,"Blatter said. "I have nothing to hide."
ISL, declared bankrupt on Monday, had rights for the 2002 soccer World Cup, the 2001 world athletics championships and the ATP Masters tennisseries among a series of top contracts.
On May 18thFIFA was forced to postpone the World Club Championship, set for July and Blatter's brainchild, because of ISL's problems. Johanssonchallenged Blatter for the four-year presidency in June 1998.
Blatter said soccer's ruling body were investigating what had happened to the TV Globo money and had asked companies who had done businesswith ISL to send their contracts to Zurich.
"The only thing we or I know is that in the tv contracts it's possible - or even probable - that around 75 million Swiss francs went to an accountthat did not belong to ... the tv account.
"If this proves true, if this is a secret account, we will have to consider filing suit."
Following a meeting of FIFA's finance committee, he said FIFA's marketing problems would have no effect on the 2002 World Cup in Japan andSouth Korea.
German media giant Kirch would almost certainly pick up the television rights for the World Cup formerly held by ISL, he said. Both companies hada 30-day option in their contract to pick up any rights that the other relinquished.
"This option is still open but Kirch in all probability will take over these rights," Blatter said.
ISL's parent company ISMM held the World Cup tv rights outside Europe and the U.S. and had sold contracts worth more than one billion Swissfrancs, he said.
Reuters