The fall of the Teflon Don: Sepp Blatter resigns

For some time now, with the accumulation of scandals that were kept being swept under the rug by FIFA, bookies started to take wagers on how long Sepp Blatter would be in power.  The man who had avoided, and somehow managed to weather through many obstacles, finally caved and decided to step down this past Tuesday. As the whole corruption scandal keeps unfolding, right now global football is facing its darkest times.

When U.S. authorities issued the warrants for the arrest of 14 top FIFA officials, the world’s Football governing association, braced itself for the impact such a scandal would deliver. But after it was unveiled that investigators had damning evidence that linked high level executive committee members to money laundering, fraud and racketeering, and the testimony of one Chuck Blazer confirming all these allegations, Blatter was backed into a corner, forging him to resign from a position he held since 1998.

With international competitions scheduled to be played in the next couple of months including the Women’s World Cup and the Copa America, currently a large shadow of uncertainty is cast throughout the world of football. The tournaments are been played during whilst the scandal keeps unfolding.

FIFA now faces the arduous challenge of rebuilding from the rubble of their once great reputation. Currently the status of the two upcoming World Cups, in Russia in 2018 and in Qatar in 2022 are still in place. However in the current climate, nothing is for certain with FIFA. Online bookmaking services continue to provide their services, and now they have begun to take wagers on the outcome of what has been called FIFAgate.

Since resigning on Tuesday Blatter has kept a low profile, awaiting the outcome of the ongoing criminal investigation that have reached some of his closest allies. The scandal currently has not yet linked him directly, but the damage has been done. The man who was once “untouchable”, is now in the most precarious situation ever.