NEW YORK: Top FIFA sponsors joined forces to demand Sepp Blatter's immediate resignation on Friday, dealing a fresh blow to the scandal-tainted world football chief even as he vowed to cling to power.
In separate statements issued one week after criminal proceedings were launched against Blatter in Switzerland, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Visa and Budweiser all called on the 79-year-old to step down.
It marked the first time that FIFA's powerful financial backers -- who together have pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the organization through deals spanning decades -- had called explicitly for Blatter to resign.
In a statement issued by his US lawyer in reaction to the sponsor demands, Blatter defiantly vowed to remain in office.
But the US-based sponsors said Blatter's position was now untenable in the wake of the corruption scandal that has plunged world football into its worst-ever crisis.
"For the benefit of the game, The Coca-Cola Company is calling for FIFA president Joseph Blatter to step down immediately so that a credible and sustainable reform process can begin in earnest," the soft-drinks giant said.
"Every day that passes, the image and reputation of FIFA continues to tarnish. FIFA needs comprehensive and urgent reform, and that can only be accomplished through a truly independent approach.
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