Blatter Hits Out At European 'Hate' Campaign

Newly re-elected FIFA chief Sepp Blatter has condemned a "hate" campaign by European football officials as he hit out at a US corruption investigation.
Mr Blatter comfortably won his fifth term as president on Friday, two days after seven leading FIFA officials were arrested on bribery charges in a dawn raid in Zurich under a US warrant.
As he addressed FIFA's executive committee on Saturday morning, Mr Blatter again insisted he is the man to lead world football's governing body through the crisis and denied any personal involvement in the alleged acts of bribery.
In an interview with broadcaster RTS before the address, Mr Blatter singled out European football's governing body UEFA and its head, Michel Platini.
Mr Platini was one of many people calling for Mr Blatter to stand down over the scandal.
"It is a hate that comes not just from a person at UEFA, it comes from the UEFA organisation that cannot understand that in 1998 I became president," Mr Blatter said.
Asked whether he would forgive Mr Platini for the resignation calls, Mr Blatter said: "I forgive everyone but I do not forget."

Mr Platini has raised the possibility - albeit slim - of Europe boycotting the World Cup.
There has also been talk of UEFA breaking away from FIFA, but that is also seen as unlikely.
Mr Blatter also said he suspected the arrests this week were an attempt to "interfere with the congress" at which he was re-elected.
The 79-year-old told RTS: "There is something that smells."
He said: "If they have a financial crime that regards American citizens then they must arrest these people there and not in Zurich when we have a congress."
He also noted that the US was the "number one sponsor" of Jordan, where his challenger for the FIFA presidency Prince Ali bin al Hussein comes from.

Meanwhile, Football Association vice-chairman David Gill confirmed he will not take up his post on FIFA's elite executive board, refusing to serve under Mr Blatter.

Mr Gill, a Manchester United director, confirmed he did not attend Saturday's first executive committee meeting.
"This action is not something I take lightly but the terribly damaging events of the last three days have convinced me it is not appropriate to be a member of the FIFA executive committee under the current leadership," Mr Gill said.
Earlier, a top American investigator said he was "fairly confident" there would be more arrests in the scandal.
Richard Weber, the head of the Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigations unit, told the New York Times: "I'm fairly confident that we will have another round of indictments.
"We strongly believe there are other people and entities involved in criminal acts."

Mr Weber would not identify the remaining targets of the investigation, or say whether Mr Blatter was among them.
He also dismissed the idea the US government was on a mission to topple the leadership of FIFA.
Mr Weber said: "I don't think there was ever a decision or a declaration that we would go after soccer. We were going after corruption.
"One thing led to another, led to another and another."
Federal authorities told the newspaper the timing of the indictments had nothing to do with the presidential election and was not an attempt to damage the re-election changes of Mr Blatter.
An IRS spokesman confirmed Mr Weber made the remarks and said the case is "open and ongoing".