UEFA will not boycott FIFA congress

Putting to rest mounting speculation, UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, will not boycott the FIFA congress meeting that begins Friday, where Sepp Blatter is up for reelection as president.

Football Assn. of Ireland chief executive John Delaney says UEFA backed down from its threatened boycott in connection with a corruption and bribery scandal enveloping FIFA. The congress will meet Friday to elect a new FIFA president or reelect Blatter.

Delaney also says English Football Assn. vice chairman David Gill will reject his seat on the FIFA executive committee if Blatter wins on Friday.

Delaney believes that Blatter may still win the vote.

“Nothing would surprise me with FIFA, that’s the sad thing about FIFA,” Delaney told the Irish Independent on Thursday. “There is always controversy around FIFA and it’s governance and the one person who has always been at the head of that is Sepp Blatter and he has to take some responsibility for that and that’s why I said yesterday that we wouldn’t be voting for him.

“Cultural change has to come from the top and Sepp Blatter has presided over this for a number of years.”