FIFA: Sepp Blatter is re-elected President of FIFA

Re-election of Sepp Blatter in Zurich as head of FIFA on Wednesday was a formality. He was the only candidate, and there is never a single outcome.

Blatter return to power for a period of four years with 186 votes out of 203, despite an English motion to halt the ballot, which was massively rejected by 172 votes against 17.

The motion to stop the vote came after a week of intense controversy for world leader of football, in which main opponent of Blatter employment torn in the midst of accusations of corruption.

Candidate Qatari Mohamed bin Hammam withdrew from the race on Sunday.

Immediately after his announcement, FIFA Ethics Committee him suspended from his position at the head of the Asian football Confederation.

Bin Hammam is under investigation for allegedly buying votes for what would have been his candidacy to the vote on Wednesday.

It is not the only Member accused FIFA of corruption.

Central America and the Caribbean of Football Association (CONCACAF) President Jack Warner was also prescribed by the Ethics Committee of FIFA for all Affairs of FIFA on Sunday, after the leaders of football Caribbean allegations were paid $ 40,000 each presidential Bin Hammam of the deceased.

In the wake of the charges, an embittered Warner released a private e-mail, that he had been sent by the Secretary General of the J?r?me Valcke FIFA, which seemed to suggest that Qatar had "purchased" the right to host the 2022 World Cup.

Sepp Blatter, however, appears to have weathered the storm of controversy.

"The ship of FIFA is in troubled waters - but this ship must be brought back on track," Blatter said in his speech opening Wednesday, adding that he was "Captain of the ship."

"It is my duty and responsibility to ensure that we get back on the rails," he said.

But if Blatter, who is part of the landscape of FIFA since 1975, 75 years can restore confidence in the sports world's richest association remains to be seen.

The son of a repairer of bicycle in the South of the Switzerland Visp, Blatter succeeded Brazilian Joao Havelange as President of FIFA in 1998.

Prior to joining FIFA, he had helped to organize the Olympic Games in Munich 1972 and was a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1999.

For the moment, the man who dreams to get the Nobel Prize for peace for his work in promoting sport has an uphill battle before him if he wants to achieve any type of tranquillity and confidence of world football.

"Because now it looks like a has been totally lacking transparency,"former editor in Chief of the French sports newspaper L'Equipe, Claude Droussent said to FRANCE 24."

"But it is a clever and determined man who is well placed to kickstart important reforms, such as how are selected for the World Cup host countries."

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FRANCE 24 exclusive - Serbia: best wishes for President to probe how Mladic avoided capture

A day after former Commander of the Serb army in Bosnia that Radko Mladic was arrested, Serbian President Boris Tadic told FRANCE 24 that he was committed to examine how one of the most wanted fugitives of Europe avoided capture for 16 years.

"Right now, we do a lot in terms of the inquiry on what has happened in recent years," said Tadic. "It is important to extend the investigation to see what really happened and to analyze if there is a possibility that people in the institutions of the State or political parties participated in its protection," said Tadic.

Nicknamed "the Butcher of Bosnia," Mladic was captured Thursday in a parent in the tiny Northern Serb village of Lazarevo, ending in a hunt for 16 years for a man accused of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity during the 1990s Bosnian war.

Addressing FRANCE 24 in the Serbian capital of Belgrade, Tadic noted that shortly after the charge of 1995 by the ICTY Mladic (Tribunal International Criminal for the former Yugoslavia), the former Commander of the Bosnian Serb army was probably protected by the "people of the Government, the State, armed forces and intelligence" services - up to what the former President Yugoslav Slobodan Milosevic has been ousted by a popular uprising in 2000.

For years after the indictment Mladic lived openly in the Serbian capital of Belgrade - his comments at the restaurant and make international news and the increase of ire on the failure of the Serbia to hand over suspects indicted by the Bosnian conflict at football matches.

It was only Milosevic's ouster that Mladic disappeared from public view.

"After the democratic changes, it has been protected by people who were not formally in the armed forces and intelligence, but with this kind of experience," said Tadic. "But in the end, it was protected by other people - primarily his family and friends." Currently, we are investigating what happened. "For me, it is important that we conclude this chapter of our history", he added.

Rejecting links to capture Mladic with the ambitions of the EU of the Serbia

Capture of Mladic opens the door to Serb efforts to join the European Union (EU), a process which has been blocked because of what States members have called the absence of the Serbia of progress in apprehending Mladic and Goran Hadzic, a Serb charged with war crimes by the ICTY and is still on the run.

In the past months, the Tadic Government initiated accession to the EU of Serbia high on its political agenda. He wants that the Serbia to grant candidate status for accession to the EU in December.

The time of the arrest of Mladic - which coincided with the visit of EU foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton Serbia - has raised questions about whether if capture Thursday was perhaps too much of a coincidence.

In October, the European Commission is to present a report on the desirability of opening negotiations for membership with the Serbia.

But in his interview with FRANCE 24, Tadic ruled out any suggestion of a link between the arrest of Mladic and the ambitions of the EU to the Serbia.

"We do any calculation on the arrest of Ratko Mladic, we worked very hard on this issue since the beginning of the mandate of the Government," said. "Why have we been reforms in our country in the course of the past few years?" "We do so because of ourselves, not by the European Union and the Hague tribunal," he insisted.

Seeking a "pragmatic solution" in Kosovo

Another likely obstacle on the path to the Serbia for accession to the EU is the question of the recognition of the independence of Kosovo Belgrade.

With a majority ethnic Albanian population, Kosovo declared its independence from the Serbia in 2008. Twenty-two of the 27 EU Member States have recognized the independence of Kosovo.

In March, the Serbia and Kosovo - two hopes EU - began to-backed EU talks on "practical issues" but not on the question of the sovereignty of Kosovo.

Tadic expressed optimism on the search for a "pragmatic solution" on the issue of Kosovo.

"This does not mean that the Serbia will recognize the independence of Kosovo." Serbia will defend its legitimate national interests, but at the same time to take into consideration the interests of the Albanian people, "has said Tadic before adding,"I am certain that we can find a pragmatic solution for Kosovo in the future.""

For the moment, Tadic said that he was pleased that the capture of Mladic had closed a particularly knotty chapter in the history of the Serbia.

"I am very proud because my team and the people who work on this issue have been successful," he said. "I think that they deserve some sort of vacation."

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Alassane Ouattara, President of Côte d'Ivoire

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Alassane Ouattara, President of Ivory Coast - FRANCE 24 Connect Join the France 24 community hereLog in TOP STORIES  FRANCEAFRICAMIDDLE EASTEUROPEAMERICASASIA & THE PACIFICOBSERVERSWEATHER TOP STORIESHot tagsRussianuclear IranAfghanistanManuel ZelayarugbyDubaiCopenhagen climate summitAudio: The week in French sportsGlossary of the Mideast conflictFrance’s military presence in AfghanistanChanging the constitution to remain in powerTimeline of Iran's nuclear crisisClose BUSINESS / TECHSPORT  CULTUREHEALTHEARTHREPORTAGESTV SHOWSBLOGSMOBILETRAVEL SPORTfootballRugbyTennisFormula 12010 FIFA World CupHot tagsLigue 1US OpenTop 14Champions LeagueEuropa LeagueSPORT on FRANCE 24FIFA World Cup 2010 Close PrintYahoo! BuzzDeliciousComment Latest update: 23/05/2011  - Alassane Ouattara - elections - France - French military - Ivory Coast - Laurent Gbagbo - Nicolas Sarkozy
Alassane Ouattara, President of Ivory Coast In an exclusive interview with Fran?ois Picard, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara insisted that his predecessor, Laurent Gbagbo, must be tried for crimes committed during the deadly standoff that followed last year's disputed presidential election. THE F24 INTERVIEW By Fran?ois PICARD
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I suggest Gbagbo be given fair trial inspite of crimes committed during the deadly standoff

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