FIFA President Sepp Blatter says he won't travel for fear of being arrested

Sepp Blatter
(Image credit: Valeriano Di Domenico/AFP/Getty Images)

FIFA President Sepp Blatter continues to maintain his innocence in the ongoing FBI investigation of soccer's governing body. The U.S. Justice Department indicted 14 officials on charges of corruption in May.

But Blatter, who is expected to be replaced at FIFA's helm as early as December, is afraid to leave Switzerland for fear of being arrested, the Los Angeles Times reports Blatter told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

"Not because the Americans have anything concrete against me, but because it would cause a public stir," he said. "Until everything has been cleared up, I am not going to take the risk of traveling."

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Blatter won't even attend Sunday night's Women's World Cup final in Vancouver, Canada.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.