The head of the Dutch football association on Tuesday publicly called on FIFA president Sepp Blatter to stand down as the world governing body battles corruption accusations.
Michael van Praag, head of the KNVB, said he challenged Blatter when he appeared before the European confederation UEFA.
Blatter is expected to use his appearance before the FIFA Congress on Wednesday to announce that he will stand for a fifth four-year term in 2015 despite saying in 2011 that he would not stand again.
“Mr. Blatter told us at the microphone that he has changed his mind, as any human being has the right to do. He confirmed that he had said that this would be his last mandate but that he changed his mind,” van Praag said after the meeting.
“I then said at the microphone: ‘I like you a lot, there is nothing personal here, but the reputation of FIFA is today inextricably linked to corruption. FIFA has a president. You are responsible, you should not stand again.”
Blatter was given a standing ovation when he spoke before the African, Asian and North American-Caribbean confederations on Monday. “This time, before UEFA, he did not get it,” van Praag said.
Blatter, 78, has been FIFA’s president since 1998. The governing body is currently embroiled by accusations that Qatar paid for votes when FIFA chose Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup. The growing scandal has threatened to taint the opening of the latest World Cup in Sao Paulo on Thursday.
In an earlier interview with Dutch newspaper Volkskrant, van Praag said: “FIFA’s image has deteriorated because of everything that’s happened in recent years.”
“Few people still take FIFA seriously and however you look at it, Blatter is mainly responsible,” Van Praag added.