FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, has admitted that soccer's governing body suffered great damage from bribery allegations against two senior executive committee members. But he denied the sport was in crisis, saying it was only suffering some difficulties.
He said, "And I repeat what I have said, I regret what has happened, in the last few days and weeks great damage to the image of FIFA. But especially also a lot of disappointment, for football fans, I'm speaking to the football fans."
Mohamed bin Hammam and Jack Warner were barred on Sunday by an ethics committee from all FIFA business. The duo is being investigated for amid allegations that Caribbean football leaders were paid 40,000 US dollars each to back bin Hamman's FIFA presidential bid.
On Monday, the body's bribery scandal widened to include the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. An email from a senior FIFA official suggested the desert nation had "bought" the right to host the World Cup. Blatter insisted there was no problem with awarding the World Cup to Qatar.