Anger at the inevitable
As Joseph 'Sepp' Blatter won Fifa's presidential election and took his place for his fifth consecutive term in charge of football's governing body, the outcry was heard worldwide. Although challenger Prince Ali bin Hussein was never expected to win, there were prominent figures that were rooting for him who were left with a bad taste in their mouths after the Prince withdrew from the election after the first round.
British Prime Minister David Cameron had already lain into Blatter before the elections began, and England's Football Association chairman Greg Dyke said that he would be 'very surprised' if Blatter was still at the helm in two years time.
"To quote the Attorney General, this is the beginning of the process, not the end. The idea Blatter could reform FIFA is suspect. I'd be very surprised if he was still in this job in two years time," said Dyke, referring to the ongoing investigations by the United States Department of Justice into Fifa's corruption.
Luis Figo, a candidate himself before opting out of the race ahead of the Fifa congress, was fuming at the outcome.
"Mr. Blatter being re-elected, that shows exactly how sick the organization is," Figo wrote on his Facebook account.
"Today was another dark day in Zurich. FIFA has lost, but above everything, football has lost and everyone who truly cares about it has lost too."
Figo then said that he expects Blatter to resign in the coming days 'if he has any dignity'.
Michel Platini, the head of UEFA, thanked his 'friend' Prince Ali, but said nothing about Blatter.
Gary Neville wrote a column calling on the players to take a stand against Blatter.
"There is one body of people that could bring Blatter down that has hardly warranted a mention - the players," Neville wrote.
"The quickest and best way to bring Blatter down is to take players away from him. "The World Cup could not exist if Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi turned their backs on it because of the way Fifa is running the game. This would impact sponsors and broadcasters and bring this whole debacle of an organisation to a standstill."
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