starting Thursday and for Friday’s presidential vote, in which Blatter was expected to ease to a fifth term, to be put back by six months.
“These events show, once again, that corruption is deeply rooted in FIFA’s culture,” the European governing body UEFA said, warning its members might boycott a congress that risks becoming a “farce”.
Former Brazil star turned senator Romario, a vociferous critic of corruption in the game, said he hoped the investigations would stymie Blatter’s hopes of re-election, and called for a “worthy” leader,” he said.
The FIFA president was not among those named in the US indictment.
US officials would not be drawn on the possibility of future charges against other senior FIFA figures, and pointedly refused to answer questions about Blatter himself.
Blatter, 79, said it was a “difficult time” for the world body, and said he would not tolerate misconduct after the investigation named top officials including former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner.
“Let me be clear: such misconduct has no place in football and we will ensure that those who engage in it are put out of the game,” Blatter said in a statement.
The veteran FIFA boss did win support from the Asian Football Confederation, which has its own recent history of corruption allegations.
Michel Platini, the French president of UEFA and a firm opponent of Blatter, is backing Blatter’s presidential opponent Prince Ali if Friday’s election goes ahead.
AFC members hold 47 of the 209 votes in the FIFA election, third only behind Africa’s CAF (56 votes) and UEFA (54).
The AFC “expresses its disappointment and sadness at Wednesday’s events in Zurich whilst opposing any delay in the FIFA presidential elections”, a statement said.
Warner, from Trinidad and Tobago, reportedly appeared in a Port of Spain court Wednesday before a judge who set his bail at $394,000, according to local media.
Warner was ordered to hand over his passport and check in with police twice a week before a hearing over whether to extradite him to the United States in July, according to the reports.
Warner has denied any wrongdoing. But two of his sons have pleaded guilty to charges related to the US investigation into bribery and kickbacks involving FIFA officials and sports marketing firms.
US agents also raided the Miami headquarters of CONCACAF, the continental confederation under FIFA in the United States. Warner used to be its president.
The court indictment said that in the bidding for the 2010 tournament, which went to South Africa, some bribes were handed over in a briefcase stuffed with $10,000 bundles of cash.
South Africa dismissed the claims as “baseless” and demanded proof of the allegations.
In the US investigation, former FIFA executive committee member Chuck Blazer was reportedly equipped with a tiny recording device hidden inside a keyring as FBI agents sought to gather evidence of fraud during meetings of football bosses at the London 2012 Olympics.