UEFA have accused FIFA of having a culture rooted in corruption.
The strength of the claim is bound to increase pressure of the world body after seven FIFA officials were arrested in Switzerland facing extradition to the United States.
As the most lucrative and significant confederation the European body has been at loggerheads with FIFA most recently over the Qatar World Cup being staged during the middle of the European season.
Ahead of tonight’s Europa League final UEFA stated: “Today’s events are a disaster for FIFA and tarnish the image of football as a whole. UEFA is deeply shocked and saddened by them.
“These events show, once again, that corruption is deeply rooted in FIFA’s culture. There is a need for the whole of FIFA to be “rebooted” and for a real reform to be carried out.
“The upcoming FIFA Congress risks to turn into a farce and therefore the European associations will have to consider carefully if they should even attend this Congress and caution a system, which, if it is not stopped, will ultimately kill football.
“The UEFA member associations are meeting tomorrow ahead of the FIFA Congress. At that point, the European associations will decide on what further steps need to be taken to protect the game of football.
“In the meantime, the members of the UEFA Executive Committee are convinced that there is a strong need for a change to the leadership of this FIFA and strongly believe that the FIFA Congress should be postponed, with new FIFA presidential elections to be organised within the next six months.”
Indictment details:
- Bribes linked to commercial deals dating back to the 1990s for football tournaments in the US and Latin America
- Nine current or former Fifa officials, including Webb and former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner, charged with corruption
- Four individual and two corporate defendants, including former Concacaf general secretary Chuck Blazer and Warner’s sons Daryan and Daryll, plead guilty
- Alleged scheme “fostered a culture of corruption and greed that created uneven playing field”
- “Undisclosed and illegal payments, kickbacks and bribes became a way of doing business at Fifa”
- Majority of scheme involved corruption over media and marketing rights to matches and tournaments
The seven Fifa officials arrested were Jeffrey Webb, Eduardo Li, Julio Rocha, Costas Takkas, Eugenio Figueredo, Rafael Esquivel and Jose Maria Marin. They now face extradition to the United States, separate investigations are going on into the awarding of the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 to Qatar.
