Council of Europe call on FIFA to investigate shady Sepp Blatter

In news that will be welcomed by 99 per cent of the football community, a Council of Europe committee have called for Sepp Blatter’s re-election as FIFA President to be investigated.

Like almost everything associated with the controversial Swiss native, Blatter’s unopposed re-election as FIFA President was tainted in controversy following the withdrawal of rival candidate Mohamed bin Hammam over bribery allegations, allegations he denied but which subsequently led to him being banned from the association for life.

At the time of the election last June, there were calls – from FA Chief David Bernstein amongst others – to postpone the election, but needless to say, it went ahead and old Sepp maintained his position as head of the most powerful football body in the world.

It turns out that Bernstein is not the only one to smell a rat. A Council of Europe Committee have called on FIFA to launch an internal investigation into the election and whether or not Blatter was guilty of exploitation in order to ensure his re-election.

A meeting of the culture, science, education and media committee in Paris on "Good governance and ethics in sport" passed a draft resolution to that effect and urged FIFA to “cast full light on the facts underlying the various scandals” which have dogged the association in recent years.

The draft resolution states: "The Assembly specifically calls on Fifa to take the necessary steps to cast full light on the facts underlying the various scandals which, in recent years, have tarnished its image and that of international football.

"The Assembly insists that Fifa… open an internal investigation in order to determine whether, and to what extent, during the latest campaign for the office of president, the candidates, and particularly the successful candidate, exploited their institutional positions to obtain unfair advantages for themselves or for potential voters."

While any investigation into Sepp’s obviously shady dealings is to be welcomed, dare we suggest that the Council could potentially have better things to be doing in the current climate, like how to deal with the various economic crises throughout the continent perhaps?

In any case, nothing is likely to done until the end of April, when parliamentarians from 47 Council of Europe member states meet in Strasbourg, France to discuss the matter of Blatter amongst various others. We're sure Sepp will have pulled a few strings to ensure his house is in order by that stage.