FIFA CHIEF Sepp Blatter has confirmed his intention to press for the removal of the disgraced honorary president Joao Havelange. Havelange, the 96-year-old former Fifa president, and his former son-in-law Ricardo Teixeira were named in court documents last week as having received millions of pounds in bribes from collapsed marketing company ISL during the 1990s.

And despite initially claiming he was powerless to act, Blatter will now look to strip Havelange of the title. He told Swiss paper SonntagsBlick: “He (Havelange) is a multi-millionaire. That he received bribes beggars belief for me. He does not need it. I will suggest to the (executive) committee that the issue be dealt with at our next congress. He has got to go.”

Neither Havelange nor former executive committee member Teixeira ever faced disciplinary action from Fifa. Instead, the world governing body agreed to pay a Swiss court €2 million in compensation – but only on the condition that criminal proceedings against Havelange and Teixeira were dropped.