is this the beginning of the long awaited FIFA reformation?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/may/27/fifa-ethics-proceedings-president-sepp-blatter

The Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, has been summoned to appear on Sunday before the organisation's ethics committee alongside two of his most senior executive committee members as world football's governing body threatens to implode ahead of next week's presidential election.

The 75-year-old will now appear alongside Mohamed bin Hammam, the Qatari challenger for the presidency accused of offering cash bribes, and Jack Warner, the controversial Concacaf president who has clung to a pivotal role in Fifa's power structure despite an alleged series of ticket touting and bribery claims.

It is believed Fifa will seek to press ahead with next week's congress, with all 208 member associations due in Zurich for Tuesday's opening ceremony, with the presidential vote on Wednesday, but much will hinge on the outcome of Sunday's ethics committee meeting.

The independent committee, chaired by the Namibian judge Petrus Damaseb after Claudio Sulser stood down citing a conflict of interest given his Swiss nationality, is due to sit on Sunday and deliver its verdict at 6pm.

Blatter, who said he knew nothing of the complaint filed by the American executive committee member Chuck Blazer until Wednesday morning, said: "I cannot comment on the proceedings that have been opened against me today. The facts will speak for themselves."

Fifa widened the investigation after Blatter was reported to the secretary general Jérôme Valcke by Bin Hammam on the basis that the report prepared by a US lawyer at Blazer's behest contained claims that the Fifa president was told about the payments by Warner and did nothing.

The ethics committee is bound by its own rules to investigate any complaint by an executive committee member under article 16 of its code, making the investigation inevitable once Bin Hammam had formally written to Valcke.

Bin Hammam is claiming that Warner told Blatter about the payments and the president failed to do anything about it. Article 14 of the ethics code states: "Officials shall report any evidence of violations of conduct to the Fifa secretary general, who shall report it to the competent body."

Bin Hammam, the Asian Football Confederation president, has said the bribery claims are "without substance". But it is not immediately clear why Blatter would keep quiet about the alleged payments, or what evidence exists in the dossier to support the claims.

The alleged payments were made at a specially convened meeting of the Caribbean Football Union on 10 and 11 May, which was arranged after Bin Hammam was unable to travel to the main Concacaf congress in Miami, ostensibly due to visa problems.

Evidence in the file compiled by the US lawyer John Collins, including signed affidavits, text messages, photographs and email conversations, includes claims that Bin Hammam made "football development" payments of $40,000 to the 30 member organisations of the CFU. Twenty-five of the 30 have a vote in Wednesday's presidential election, in which Blatter is seeking to extend his 13-year term for another four years.

The widening of the investigation to include Blatter is likely to lead to further calls for fundamental reform. The Fifa president on Thursday said he took no pleasure from the allegations against Bin Hammam, who has called them a "tactic" against his election chances, and said there is no need for a revolution at Fifa.

"I am all for the zero-tolerance policy I announced a while back and will continue to fight corruption in football to the best of my ability," Blatter wrote. "Fifa does not need a revolution. What Fifa needs is iron-clad laws that are implemented forcefully and allow world football's governing body to conduct its affairs transparently, properly and professionally in every respect."

Blatter has privately said he knew nothing of Blazer's dossier, compiled after CFU members who did not accept the cash approached him with their concerns, until he arrived back from Japan on Wednesday.

Michel Platini has described the decision to investigate Blatter as a "very interesting moment". After being told of the new developments, the Uefa president said: "We have some strange days these new, these next days." He said that because of the Fifa elections: "I will go back to Zurich after the final of the Champions League." Platini added: "You know the people who are corrupt, they know who can be corruptible. They know I am incorruptible."