Sepp Blatter has resigned as the president of Fifa, just four days after he won re-election for a fifth four-year term against the backdrop of the worst corruption scandal in the organisation’s history.
就在第五次当选四年一任的国际足联(FIFA)主席仅仅四天之后,塞普·布拉特(Sepp Blatter)已辞去这一职位。这件事的大背景是国际足联正卷入该组织有史以来最严重的腐败丑闻。
Mr Blatter, who presided over world football’s governing body for 17 years, said it would hold an extraordinary congress to elect his successor.
布拉特执掌这个全球足球管理机构已有17年之久。他表示该机构将召开一个特别大会,选举他的继任者。
His resignation comes less than a week after US investigators alleged "rampant" corruption at the highest level of Fifa and indicted nine of the organisation’s officials, while Swiss prosecutors announced a criminal probe into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar.
就在布拉特辞职不到一周以前,美国调查人员指控国际足联最高层腐败"猖獗",并起诉9名该机构官员。同时,瑞士检方还宣布,对该机构将2018年世界杯(World Cup)主办权授予俄罗斯以及2022年主办权授予卡塔尔展开刑事调查。
Mr Blatter, a Swiss national, said his re-election "does not seem to be supported by everybody in the world of football". He added: "The election is closed but the challenges have not come to an end. Fifa needs a profound restructuring."
身为瑞士国民的布拉特表示,他的再次当选"似乎并未得到足球世界所有成员的支持"。他补充说:"选举已经结束,但相关质疑并未结束。国际足联需要一场深度重组。"
Domenico Scala, the head of Fifa’s audit and compliance committee, said the resignation would "fundamentally change the way people see Fifa", and outlined steps the organisation would take to reform itself.
国际足联审计与合规委员会主管多梅尼科·斯卡拉(Domenico Scala)表示,布拉特的辞职会"从根本上改变人们对国际足联的看法"。此外,他还介绍了国际足联改革自身的多项举措。
"The decision he made was difficult and courageous,"
"布拉特做出这一决定十分困难,也充满勇气。"
Mr Scala said. "In the current circumstances this was the best way to ensure an orderly transition. We have worked hard to put in place governance reforms, but this has not been enough."
斯卡拉表示:"在目前的局面下,这是确保有序交接的最佳方式。我们已尽力实施治理改革,但还远远不够。"
Mr Blatter will continue in his post until the congress, likely to come between December and March next year. Until then, he said he would work to implement reforms to make Fifa honest and transparent.
布拉特将留任至特别大会召开,该会议可能于今年12月到明年3月期间召开。布拉特表示,在大会召开以前,他将努力开展改革,令国际足联诚信而透明。
He was re-elected after his only rival, Jordan’s Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, withdrew after gaining 73 votes to Blatter’s 133 in the first round of voting.
此前,布拉特的唯一竞争对手约旦王子阿里·本·侯赛因(Ali bin Al Hussein)在第一轮投票中只赢得了73票,相比之下布拉特赢得了133票。为此,后者撤出了选举,从而令布拉特再次当选国际足联主席。