Japan FIFA official calls for 'pus' to be squeezed out
TOKYO (Reuters) - World soccer's scandal-hit governing body FIFA needs to have the 'pus' squeezed out of it but president Sepp Blatter will not be asked to resign by its executive committee, new Japanese committee member Kozo Tashima has told local media. Nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives have been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with running a criminal enterprise that involved more than $150 million in bribes. "It's a fact that there have been rumours and stories (about possible corruption) for a long time," Tashima was quoted by the daily Mainichi Shimbun as telling reporters on arrival at Tokyo's Haneda airport on Monday. "All of the pus must be squeezed out." But Tashima, who has just become a member of the FIFA executive committee, said they would not be calling for Blatter's resignation after the 79-year-old won re-election to a fifth term despite the scandal. "If he himself were suspected and being investigated, it would be a different story, but he is not," Tashima added. "So I believe it's difficult to think of his resignation." (Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
