LONDON: Greg Dyke, chairman of the Football Association, has described Sepp Blatter’s decision to stand down as FIFA president as “brilliant for world football”.

Blatter’s announcement following a week in which the world federation had bounced from one scandal and controversy to another ever since the judicial assault on FIFA in both Zurich and New York last week by the Swiss and United States justice departments.

Dyke, on BBC Radio Five said: “It is a good afternoon! I think it’s brilliant for world football. This is the start of something new.”

Blatter’s announcment may persuade David Gill and Heather Rabbatts to review their decisions to resign from the FIFA executive committee and the anti-discrimination task force respectively.

Dyle added: “When I left Zurich last Friday I said: ‘This is not over’ – but even I couldn’t have thought it’d be over so soon.

“Why didn’t he step down last week? Clearly there’s a smoking gun of some sort. He’s not been honourable in years. Now he’s gone – let’s celebrate.

“FIFA needs a root and branch examination, we need to know where the money is being spent. It’s been a corrupt organisation for something like 30 years and at long last we’ve got a chance to change it.

“What matters is can we reform FIFA?”

On the organisation’s next leader, Dyke said: “They must have an impeccable character and be able to run an organisation where corruption has been rife for years… a lot of people could do the job.”

Culture secretary John Whittingdale, a long-time critic of FIFA under Blatter said the world governing body now had to implement major reforms.

He said: “Governments, national associations and international confederations, along with players and fans have all called for Sepp Blatter to resign in recent days.

“We welcome his belated announcement today but this is only the beginning of the process of change we need to see from FIFA. I sincerely hope this is the first step to a new FIFA that can command the confidence and respect of the football world once again.”

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