World Soccer's Worst Day, Says Luis Figo

Luis Figo has slammed FIFA, world soccer's governing body after the world's most popular sport was plunged into turmoil on Wednesday as seven senior soccer officials were arrested on U.S. corruption charges and faced extradition from Switzerland. (Diego Maradona Cheers FIFA Arrests)

In a statement issued in Lisbon, Figo said: "People who love football such as I do, will remember May 27 as one of the worst days in the history of FIFA. I reiterate what I said last week: what is happening on Friday in Zurich is not an election. Now there are more people who agree with me. To give consent to this plebiscite is a mistake." (FIFA Presidential Election Should be Postponed: UEFA)

The 42-year-old former World Footballer of the Year withdrew his presidential candidacy last week and threw his support behind Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, who is challenging embattled president Sepp Blatter for soccer's top job in Friday's election at the FIFA Congress.

The Congress and the election are both expected to go ahead as scheduled despite Wednesday's dramatic twin-pronged assault by the United States Department of Justice and the Swiss Attorney general's office which saw the arrest and detention of senior FIFA officials on a multitude of corruption charges. (South Africa Deny Bribes Paid to Host World Cup 2010)

The Portuguese star's challenge to Blatter's power was never seen as a particularly strong one, although it did underline the strength of opposition to the portly Swiss who will be 80 next year and has been in office for 17 years.

Figo though, who called Blatter "a dictator" last week decided it was in the best interests of the opposition to withdraw, along with Dutch FA president Michael van Praag, with both men uniting behind Prince Ali. (US Indicts nine officials, five businessmen)

Despite calls for the Congress and the election to be postponed from UEFA, the European confederation long opposed to Blatter, it is expected to go ahead with Blatter the overwhelming favourite to win a fifth term of office with a mandate until 2019 when he will be 83.

Authorities have also announced a criminal investigation into the awarding of the next two World Cups. The arrests in a dawn raid at a five-star Zurich hotel mark an unprecedented blow against soccer's governing body, which for years has been dogged by allegations of corruption but always escaped major criminal cases. (US Vows to Rid Global Soccer of Corruption)

U.S. prosecutors said they aimed to make more arrests but would not be drawn on whether Blatter, for long the most powerful man in the sport, was a target of the probe.

The European soccer body UEFA called for Friday's election to be postponed, saying, "the European associations will have to consider carefully if they should even attend this Congress." (Swiss authorities arrest seven officials in FIFA scandal)

The Asian Football Confederation, which represents 47 member nations and has been a steadfast ally of Blatter, re-affirmed its support for the FIFA boss on Thursday, and pushed for Friday's election to go ahead.

In a scathing indictment of corruption in soccer, U.S. authorities said nine officials and five sports media and promotions executives were charged in cases involving more than $150 million in bribes over a period of 24 years. They said their investigation exposed complex money laundering schemes, millions of dollars in untaxed incomes and tens of millions in offshore accounts held by FIFA officials. (Blatter Not Involved in Corruption Probe: FIFA)

Swiss police arrested the seven, all from the Latin American and Caribbean region, and detained them pending extradition proceedings to the United States, which could take years if they contest the process. The Federal Office of Justice in Switzerland said that six would contest extradition, but that one person agreed to be extradited.

"As charged in the indictment, the defendants fostered a culture of corruption and greed that created an uneven playing field for the biggest sport in the world," said Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey. "Undisclosed and illegal payments, kickbacks, and bribes became a way of doing business at FIFA." (Australia to Vote for Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein in Election for FIFA President)

Blatter, who has denied and survived allegations of his involvement in corruption, said in a statement: "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." (Sepp Blatter Calls for Crisis Meeting as FIFA Scandal Grows: Reports)

The statement also said that FIFA welcomed the actions and the investigations "and believe that it will help to reinforce measures that FIFA has already taken to root out any wrongdoing in football." (Vladimir Putin Says US Trying to Block Sepp Blatter Reelection as FIFA Head)

Separate from the U.S. investigation, Swiss prosecutors said they had opened their own criminal proceedings against unidentified people on suspicion of mismanagement and money laundering related to the awarding of rights to host the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2022 event in Qatar. (Swiss Authorities Say No Plans to Question Blatter For Now)

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch told reporters at a news conference in New York her office did not want to impede the 2018 and 2022 World Cups but looked forward to working with Swiss authorities investigating the award of the tournaments.

"FIFA has a lot of soul searching to do," she said. (Former FIFA Vice-President Jack Warner Says He's Innocent)

(With inputs from Reuters)