David Gill has told FIFA president Sepp Blatter he should not stand for re-election next year.
Blatter, 78, is expected to announce his intention to run for a fifth term in 2015 at the FIFA congress in Sao Paulo today.
But during an address to Europe’s top football officials yesterday, former Manchester United chief executive Gill, along with fellow committee member Michael van Praag, told Blatter he should not be a candidate because FIFA’s reputation had been damaged during his presidency.
Blatter and FIFA have come under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks following a sensational exposé in The Sunday Times that alleged corruption was at the heart of Qatar’s successful 2022 World Cup bid.
Blatter condemned the reports on Monday, suggesting to the African and Asian football federations that the claims had been motivated by “discrimination and racism” from the British media.
Van Praag, the Netherlands federation president, said “People link FIFA to corruption and bribery and all kinds of old boys’ network” as he and other delegates met Blatter at UEFA’s World Cup base.
And Gill told Sky Sports News: “From our perspective we were surprised that he declared his candidacy because in 2011 he was very clear that it was his final four years.
“My personal view is he should have stayed with his comment back in 2011. “I think he has done some good work over the years. Yes he is looking at the governance structures and what needs to be done going forward.
“However, you can change the structure but unless you have the right people within it, the structure is irrelevant.
“FIFA is the over-arching body in world football and needs to have a good relationship with all the confederations. What we would like to see is a full and frank open debate around the process going forward.”
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