Blatter will step down, reiterates spokesman

Sepp Blatter has indicated there has been no change of heart in his decision to step down as FIFA president. Blatter's former election advisor Klaus Stoehlker has claimed it remains "open" for the 79-year-old to run again if a convincing candidate does not emerge

Zurich: Sepp Blatter has indicated there has been no change of heart in his decision to step down as FIFA president. Blatter's former election advisor Klaus Stoehlker has claimed it remains "open" for the 79-year-old to run again if a convincing candidate does not emerge.


FIFA President Sepp Blatter 

But a FIFA spokesperson said Stoehlker was no longer employed by Blatter and the FIFA president pointed to his statement of June 2 where he announced he would step down between December and February.

The FIFA spokesperson said: "Klaus Stoehlker's mandate from the FIFA president ended on 31 May, 2015. The FIFA president would like to point to his remarks from June 2."

Stoehlker had told Sky News: "As long as there is not such a candidate it remains open for Sepp Blatter to run again."

Domenico Scala, the independent chairman of FIFA's audit and compliance committee, has urged Blatter to stick with his plans to resign.

Scala, who is overseeing the next FIFA presidential election, said in a statement: "For me, the reforms are the central topic. That is why I think it is clearly indispensable to follow through with the initiated process of leadership change as it has been announced."

Meanwhile, Switzerland's attorney general will make a statement tomorrow about his investigation into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Michael Lauber is expected to detail the scope of the investigation as well as the time-scale and resources that will be used in the "criminal proceedings".

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