Soccer's governing body FIFA called the arrest of six of its leading officials on bribery charges a "difficult moment" but said it would not derail President Sepp Blatter's bid to win a fifth term in an election on Friday.
At a news conference in Zurich, FIFA spokesman Walter De Gregorio struck a defiant tone, saying a criminal investigation into FIFA's awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was unrelated to the looming leadership vote.
He also said he expected those World Cups, scheduled to take place in Russia and Qatar respectively, to go ahead as planned despite suspicions of mismanagement and money laundering linked to the bids.
"It is certainly a difficult moment for us," De Gregorio said. "It is a hard time for us. But this is good for FIFA. It confirms that we are on the right track."
Asked if the election of the FIFA president would go ahead, he added: "There was never such an idea to postpone the congress nor the election, one thing has nothing to do with the other."
Several high-ranking soccer officials, including two vice-presidents of FIFA, were arrested by Swiss police on Wednesday and detained pending extradition to the United States.
Swiss authorities announced that they had opened criminal proceedings against individuals related to the two World Cup bids. The Swiss attorney general said the proceedings were separate to a U.S. criminal investigation into the allocation of media, marketing and sponsorship rights for soccer tournaments.
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