(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The European Parliament Thursday welcomed Joseph Blatter's resignation as international football federation FIFA president and called on the federation to select an interim leader to replace him.
The EP in a resolution called on FIFA to put in place a transparent, balanced and democratic decision-making process, including for the election of the new president.
It regrets that recent corruption allegations against the international football
federation FIFA have seriously damaged the credibility and the integrity of
global football.
The resolution stresses that all officials involved in financial misconduct should be dismissed and any decisions that are linked to corrupt or criminal activities should be reviewed.
The EP underlines the importance of the investigation by Swiss and US authorities into the award of the 1998, 2010, 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments to France, South Africa, Russia and Qatar.
It welcomes the statement by the head of FIFA's Audit and Compliance Committee that the award of the World Cup for 2018 and 2022 could be invalidated if evidence emerges that the awards only came about as a result of corrupt activities.
It says that since corruption within FIFA is "rampant, systemic and deep-rooted", the football federation should undertake wide-ranging reforms, including a review of its statutes, structure, code and operational policies.
The resolution urges the EU and its member states to cooperate fully with all ongoing and future investigations on corrupt practices within FIFA.
Meanwhile, the holding of the 2015 European Games in Baku (Azerbaijan) at a time "when most of Azerbaijan's human rights defenders are in prison," was debated by the EP on Wednesday evening.
The EP asked the EU Council of Ministers to urge Olympic committees and large sports federations to include respect for human rights, in criteria for decisions on who hosts international sporting events.
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