Spanish opera star to help cleanup FIFA
Spanish opera star to help cleanup FIFA
Henry Kissinger and Johann Cruyff wil join Placido Domingo as advisors to Sepp Blatter.

Zurich: Fifa president Sepp Blatter insists he is determined to restore credibility within world football's governing body following the recent bribery allegations - and has enlisted the help of Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo.

Blatter was re-elected for a fourth term after his only opponent in the race, Mohamed Bin Hammam, withdrew before he was suspended by Fifa's Ethics Committee over allegations of bribery.

Blatter confirmed Domingo alongside former United States secretary of state Henry Kissinger and Ajax legend Johann Cruyff will be appointed as advisors.

"These gentlemen are more or less advisers, they are not the experts but advisers and what they should be also is the kind of council of wisdom which my Executive Committee would not like because they think they are the council of wisdom, but I have also contacted the Spanish singer Placido Domingo," Blatter told CNN.

"He is happy, he is proud that he is part, as Kissinger also. People say he (Kissinger) is an old man, but he is a wise man."

Despite widespread scrutiny facing Fifa and their president in recent times, Blatter has revealed that his primary aim is to clean up the image of the organisation.

"I have said 'zero tolerance' is one thing, but I have also said the social and cultural implementation of football is important -- but now it's to rebuild the image of Fifa, that's number one, and I have already started," Blatter said.

"We are now somewhere where football needs a little bit more credibility because we came building up football, bringing so much money in to this game.

"Automatically a lot of devils came in to the game and now we are in a situation where we have to go forward and we have to cut all these allegations, criticism, whatever. We can't do it in one day, but we will do it."

The 75-year-old also hinted that Qatar would not face an inquiry, despite Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke suggesting that they bought the right to host the 2022 World Cup.

"I don't know why we should open something because somebody has said something towards Qatar," he added.

"Let me work now on this new approach of the ethics committee, let me work with this committee of solutions and if this committee of solutions or the ethics committee have the impression that they should do something then let them take the decisions."

When asked whether he had had enough of being Fifa president, considering the amount of criticism levelled at football's world governing body in recent times, Blatter responded: "No. I haven’t had enough.

"I would say I have received enough kicks and I hope I want this to stop now, but I want to prove now that we can bring back this credibility to Fifa, to the football... because the world of football is a good world of football."

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