There’s something wonderful in the sententious pomp of soccer ruling body FIFA’s elections, contrasted against a reputation for corruption brought to new grossness by this week’s indictment of officials by the U.S. Justice Department and Swiss cops.
The latest: elections will go to an exciting second round after a challenger, Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein, managed to gain enough votes to prevent Blatter getting two-thirds of the total, the necessary threshold for a quick win. But “Blatter gains 133 to Prince Ali’s 73” suggests a doomed resistance, given that only half the votes will now be needed.
“It feels a little bit like we’re watching a terrible game of bingo,” reports The Guardian’s liveblogging team.
Update: Prince Ali withdrew, meaning Blatter was elected without opposition in the second round.