President's 'gag' turns debate on Fifa finances into sham

Fifa's motto of "Fair Play" was exposed as a sham yesterday when the organisation's president, Sepp Blatter, made a last-ditch effort to hold on to power by gagging opponents in what appeared to be a wanton display of vote manipulation.

On the eve of today's Fifa presidential election and three days before the start of the World Cup, Blatter refused to allow his opponents to speak during a crucial debate into Fifa's crumbling finances that was punctuated by cheering and booing from the floor and degenerated into chaos and recrimination among the 202 member nations.

Among those barred from addressing the extraordinary congress were Issa Hayatou, Blatter's only rival for the presidency of world football's ruling body, and David Will, Britain's most senior Fifa official, who was chairman of the investigation team set up to look into Fifa's finances which was temporarily suspended by Blatter, citing unspecified breaches of confidentiality.

Will, who a day earlier had published a document showing that Fifa stood to lose £215m over the past four years, emerged from the conference room shaking with rage and hinting that he may resign. "I will have to consider what to do next," he said. "It is unbelievable that only one side should have been allowed to speak."

Will asked three times by a show of hands to be given the floor and at one stage pleaded with Blatter. "I told him I must be allowed to speak but he refused," said Will. "I wanted people to know that Fifa's financial state is in a serious condition but I fear all this is being clouded by the election. Someone has to take an iron grip on the finances, otherwise we are in serious trouble."

Not even a personal intervention by the Norwegian football association's general secretary persuaded Blatter to give Will and other European delegates the floor. Instead, he allowed nine of his own supporters to praise his contribution to the game, including the head of the Libyan FA, Muammer Al Saidi Ghadaffi, a son of the Libyan president.

Will's stance was supported by the Fifa general secretary Michel Zen Ruffinen, who surprised delegates by refusing to take responsibility for Fifa's latest financial report or to present it to the delegates. Zen Ruffinen, who is in charge of finances, has fallen out with Blatter in recent weeks and said: "Everyone can now see what sort of state the organisation is in. I am very sad. I no longer believe in transparency and democracy at Fifa."

Although Blatter was expected to win a second four-year term when the count took place this morning, Adam Crozier, the chief executive of the Football Association, whose vote went to Hayatou, described yesterday's stage-managing tactics as appalling.

"The way the meeting was handled was an absolute disgrace," said Crozier, whose association was among those refused permission to speak. "Mr Blatter was working from a very selective list of people he wanted the congress to hear from. When you have Fifa vice-presidents asking to speak and being refused, it's disgraceful. He talks about transparency. I suggest he looks the word up in the dictionary. What happened today shows people in their true colours."

Lennart Johansson, the Uefa president, said Blatter's cynical tactics, and the resulting finger-wagging and cat-calling, were the most distasteful scenes he had ever witnessed at Fifa. "I have never experienced scenes like that before at a congress and I would not like to do so again," he said.

The furore followed a presentation by Fifa's financial director Urs Linsi which claimed it was £400m in credit and which was described by Blatter as a "milestone". Will, however, insists this figure is based on funds borrowed on the basis of projected income from the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.

Blatter refused to admit that his organisation is in the red. "We have 15 proud marketing partners for 2002, more than ever before, and we have hundreds of millions of Swiss francs in our bank account," he said.