LONDON, (Reuters) – FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s Twitter account was hacked yesterday with a series of bizarre tweets saying he was stepping down and was involved in corruption.
A statement from FIFA confirmed the account had been hacked, saying: “Some FIFA accounts, incl. @SeppBlatter and @fifaworldcup, have been hacked. If in doubt, please verify any info with FIFA office.”
The bogus messages on Blatter’s account included a retweet from FIFA World Cup saying: “It was decided that the president Sepp Blatter is to step down due to corruption charges.
Another tweet on Blatter’s page said: “So what if I took money from Qatari prince? I am the family’s bread earner,” before declaring himself unrepentant.
“His excellency the Emir of Qatar has been the most generous figure I have ever met,” and “I do not apologize for my decision. I have done the best for Fifa. For almost 15 years I have toiled for this organization.”
The official World Cup Twitter account also fell victim to the hackers with several fake messages, including: “Sepp Blatter has been investigated for multiple charges of bribery.”
A group calling themselves the Syrian Electronic Army, supportive of the country’s leader, Bashar Al-Assad, claimed responsibility for hacking the accounts, tweeting: “Syrian Electronic Army Was Here” and “Twitter #Failure… You can’t stop us!”
Blatter, 77, has been president of FIFA since 1998 and has not yet announced whether he will be standing for a fifth term when his current mandate ends in 2015.
