BERLIN: No one has brought more shame on FIFA than its president Sepp Blatter and he should step aside for a younger leader, the organization’s former vice president Jack Warner has said.

Warner, who has been accused of soliciting bribes as part of a US-led corruption case against senior soccer officials, left jail in Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday after he was granted bail, according to local media.

“Why are there no investigations in Asia, or in Europe?” Warner told German magazine Stern in an interview released on Monday.

“Why are there no investigations into Sepp Blatter? No other person has brought so much shame and disgrace on FIFA.”

Warner is among nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives charged by the US Department of Justice with running a criminal enterprise that involved more than $150 million in bribes.

Asked by Stern if he thought 79-year-old Blatter was corrupt, Warner said: “I only know this: he was elected FIFA boss five times in succession. Is he corrupt? I don’t know.

“If I were his age... I’d retire and pass the presidency of FIFA on to someone younger. But everyone has different ideas of what to do with their lives.”

Once one of the most powerful men in FIFA, Warner surrendered to authorities on Wednesday after US officials sought his extradition.

Prosecutors say Warner solicited bribes worth $10 million from the South African government for them to host the 2010 World Cup and diverted bribes for personal use.

Warner issued a statement protesting his innocence on Wednesday as FIFA reeled from police raids in Switzerland and the US and a second investigation opened by the Swiss authorities into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Warner, who faces 12 charges, including racketeering and bribery, said on Wednesday he was innocent and noted he had left soccer activities four years ago.

The 72-year-old resigned from FIFA after ethics investigations were begun into a meeting he held with former Asian Football Confederation chief Mohammed Bin Hammam where payments were made to Caribbean soccer officials ahead of the election for FIFA president in 2011.

EU urges FIFA to reform

In Brussels, the European Union on Monday called for FIFA to reform quickly in the wake of a corruption scandal engulfing football’s governing body, saying that the sport’s integrity was at stake.

“Corruption has no place in sport,” said Nathalie Vandystadt, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, the executive of the 28-nation EU.

“FIFA has been given enough time and chances to reform. Now it’s time for change. The integrity of football is at stake,” Vandystadt told a news conference.

“Millions of fans around the world have lost patience and they deserve better,” she added while declining to comment on Sepp Blatter’s re-election as the head of FIFA on Friday.

The EU was among many voices calling for reform after a week, which saw seven FIFA officials arrested and 18 people connected to football indicted on corruption charges by the US Justice Department.

The Commission however declined to back calls in some quarters of Europe for a boycott of the World Cup scheduled to take place in Russia in 2018.

“This is not an option we have on the table. We will continue to monitor the developments in the FIFA investigation,” she said.