Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness called for the removal of FIFA President Sepp Blatter from office if he is unable to show how he intends to resolve the problem of corruption over the next year. “Blatter has to clearly state over the 12 months how he intends to dry out this swamp and if he fails there must be a possibility to remove him,” Hoeness told the Munich newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung in an interview published Thursday, on the occasion of his 60th birthday. “Every week we have something new,” Hoeness said, referring to recent claims by former FIFA vice president Jack Warner that he had been awarded World Cup television rights for as little as $1 in return for helping Blatter win elections for the presidency of world football's ruling body. “The last events are the final proof for me that Blatter should not be given the time until the end of his term.” Blatter's fourth term as FIFA president ends in May 2015. Hoeness holds no international position but he is influential in Germany. Blatter is often the target of criticism from Bayern officials. Board chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has compared Blatter to a dictator.
