LONDON: FIFA executive committee member Amos Adamu has denied any wrongdoing after being provisionally suspended while his alleged role in a World Cup vote-selling scandal is investigated. FIFA launched a probe after British newspaper The Sunday Times alleged Adamu and fellow executive committee member Reynald Temarii offered to sell their votes for funding toward football projects. Adamu said in a statement that “whilst I wholly refute all allegations made, I fully support the inquiry since it is important that these claims are thoroughly investigated.” FIFA's executive committee will select the host of the World Cup in 2018 and 2022 in a Dec. 2 secret ballot in Zurich. Blatter ‘distressed' Sepp Blatter, president of world football's governing body FIFA, admitted Thursday he was “extremely distressed” by the bribery allegations which have rocked the World Cup organizers. “I am extremely distressed, it's true,” said Blatter in Essen where he was attending the German Football Federation (DFB) annual congress. “Does this mean that we close down FIFA? We responded Wednesday that life and football should continue,” he added before admitting it had been “a very difficult day for FIFA.”
