<p>Sepp Blatter was warned from within FIFA today not to attempt to backtrack on his pledge to quit as president.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Domenico Scala, who is overseeing the presidential election, said that a leadership change is an essential component of the far-reaching reforms required to overhaul FIFA amid deepening criminal investigations into soccer corruption.<br /><br />Scala's blunt comments came after Swiss newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag, citing unnamed sources, reported that Blatter is considering trying to retain the presidency after receiving support from Africa and Asia.<br /><br />FIFA did not comment on the report. Blatter announced on June 2 only four days after being re-elected for a fifth term that he would stand down from the post after a successor was chosen sometime between December and February.<br /><br />Scala, head of FIFA's audit and compliance committee, is urging Blatter not to consider back-tracking on that pledge. The 79-year-old Blatter has already reneged on a 2011 promise to leave office in 2015.<br /><br />"For me, the reforms are the central topic," Scala said in a statement. "That is why I think it is clearly indispensable to follow through with the initiated process of leadership change as it has been announced."<br /><br />The FIFA executive committee will meet in Zurich on July 20 to set the election date. Lawmakers from the 28-nation European Parliament last week voted on a resolution calling for Blatter to speed up his announced resignation and let FIFA appoint an interim leader.<br /><br />Scala set out the election process at FIFA headquarters on June 2 directly after Blatter's sudden resignation statement and said that significant work was required to "regain the trust of the public," including imposing term limits for the president.<br /><br />Blatter has been portraying himself as leading that reform process, via his Twitter account and in FIFA's internal media outlets.<br /><br />And Blatter used his column in the in-house weekly magazine to praise FIFA's handling of the worst crisis in the organization's 111 years despite his leading adviser, <br />communications director Walter De Gregorio, abruptly leaving on Thursday.<br /><br />"The fact that our organization continues to function smoothly and provides football with a firm foundation at this time of crisis makes me all the prouder," Blatter wrote on Friday.<br /><br />Asked today if Blatter was categorically ruling out standing in the new election, FIFA said: "We refer you to the remarks from FIFA President Blatter from 2 June. FIFA has no further comment." </p>
<p>Sepp Blatter was warned from within FIFA today not to attempt to backtrack on his pledge to quit as president.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Domenico Scala, who is overseeing the presidential election, said that a leadership change is an essential component of the far-reaching reforms required to overhaul FIFA amid deepening criminal investigations into soccer corruption.<br /><br />Scala's blunt comments came after Swiss newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag, citing unnamed sources, reported that Blatter is considering trying to retain the presidency after receiving support from Africa and Asia.<br /><br />FIFA did not comment on the report. Blatter announced on June 2 only four days after being re-elected for a fifth term that he would stand down from the post after a successor was chosen sometime between December and February.<br /><br />Scala, head of FIFA's audit and compliance committee, is urging Blatter not to consider back-tracking on that pledge. The 79-year-old Blatter has already reneged on a 2011 promise to leave office in 2015.<br /><br />"For me, the reforms are the central topic," Scala said in a statement. "That is why I think it is clearly indispensable to follow through with the initiated process of leadership change as it has been announced."<br /><br />The FIFA executive committee will meet in Zurich on July 20 to set the election date. Lawmakers from the 28-nation European Parliament last week voted on a resolution calling for Blatter to speed up his announced resignation and let FIFA appoint an interim leader.<br /><br />Scala set out the election process at FIFA headquarters on June 2 directly after Blatter's sudden resignation statement and said that significant work was required to "regain the trust of the public," including imposing term limits for the president.<br /><br />Blatter has been portraying himself as leading that reform process, via his Twitter account and in FIFA's internal media outlets.<br /><br />And Blatter used his column in the in-house weekly magazine to praise FIFA's handling of the worst crisis in the organization's 111 years despite his leading adviser, <br />communications director Walter De Gregorio, abruptly leaving on Thursday.<br /><br />"The fact that our organization continues to function smoothly and provides football with a firm foundation at this time of crisis makes me all the prouder," Blatter wrote on Friday.<br /><br />Asked today if Blatter was categorically ruling out standing in the new election, FIFA said: "We refer you to the remarks from FIFA President Blatter from 2 June. FIFA has no further comment." </p>