FIFA corruption scandal: Sepp Blatter being investigated, say reports

Authorities hopes FIFA officials named last week will help their case against Blatter

Sepp Blatter, who has announced his resignation as FIFA president, is being investigated by American authorities in the corruption scandal, media outlets said.

"Now that people are going to want to save themselves, there's probably a race to see who will flip on (Blatter) first," a source familiar with the case said on Tuesday, reports Efe.

Along the same lines, the New York Times, citing unnamed official sources, in its online edition on Tuesday reported that American authorities are focussing on Blatter in the corruption investigation.

The daily said that in their efforts to build a case against Blatter, who is Swiss, American authorities are hoping to get the cooperation of some of the FIFA officials who were formally accused last week.

Blatter, 79, announced his resignation at a news conference in Zurich on Tuesday, six days after the FBI raided a hotel in Zurich and arrested several FIFA officials and just four days after he was re-elected to a fifth term as president.

Jordanian Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, 39, whom Blatter defeated last week in the FIFA president election, told CNN on Tuesday after learning of the football chief's resignation that, "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."

Former footballer Luis Figo, who a week before the latest election withdrew his candidacy in hopes of boosting Al-Hussein's chances of unseating Blatter, said that Tuesday was "a good day for FIFA and for football."

The former Portuguese international, who did not confirm if he would again try to attain the presidency, called for a "new era of dynamism, transparency and democracy in FIFA."

UEFA, the European football organisation, and several of its member associations hailed Blatter's resignation.

Support was also expressed for the current UEFA chief, former French international Michel Platini, to succeed Blatter.