WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Earlier on Friday, Blatter was reelected to a fifth term as FIFA president just two days after the US Justice Department indicted nine FIFA officials on racketeering and money laundering charges.
“He [Blatter] could be forcibly removed by the membership, but my guess is that that would take at least a criminal indictment and probably a full conviction,” College of the Holy Cross Sports Economics Professor Victor Matheson told Sputnik on Friday.
Smith College Professor of Economics Andrew Zimbalist told Sputnik that if Blatter is detained by the US Justice Department or the Swiss authorities, perhaps he can be deposed.
“FIFA will wait to see how the indictments progress and if public opinion remains hypercritical,” Zimbalist said when asked if the organization would dismiss Blatter.
Drexel University Professor William Rosenberg told Sputnik that the FIFA membership is probably reluctant to change leaders during a crisis because it could be risky and might reflect poorly on the organization.
“They [FIFA members] might not be happy with what’s going on, but if they kick Blatter out, they may make the organization look even worse than it already does,” Rosenberg argued.
Given the fact that FIFA is “under attack” as an organization, Rosenberg noted, they might want to avoid exacerbating the situation and let things stabilize before making any dramatic changes.
During the Friday vote, Blatter failed to gain the needed two-thirds majority in the first round, receiving 133 votes. But his only rival, Prince Ali bin Hussein of Jordan, withdrew from the race before the second round.
