FIFA’s communications director Water De Gregorio has left his position as Sepp Blatter’s spokesman.
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It is believed that the main reason for his departure was a joke he told about world soccer’s governing body -- specifically involving himself, Blatter and under-fire secretary general Jerome Valcke -- on a talk show.
Seriously.
De Gregorio joined FIFA after working on Blatter’s presidential campaign team in 2011 but the former Swiss journalist has now stepped down after making light of FIFA’s current situation on a Swiss TV show three days ago. That, it seems, was the final nail in De Gregorio’s coffin after he had previously stated in a press conference on May 27 that raids to arrest FIFA officials in Zurich was “a good day for FIFA” in an attempt to put a positive spin on the darkest day in the organization’s history.
So, what exactly did De Gregorio say?
Well, he set up the joke be saying that Blatter, himself and secretary general Valcke were in a car and then asked the host “who was driving?”
After a pause for the host of the show to comment, De Gregorio then delivered the punchline: “The police.”
With Sepp Blatter announcing he is to resign as FIFA’s president -- a new president is set to be installed between Dec. this year and Mar. 2016 following an extraordinary congress that FIFA’s under-fire leader called himself in a hastily arranger presser -- and the FBI-led investigation into alleged corruption ongoing with 18 individuals now indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice, FIFA has now lost its mouthpiece as De Gregorio tried to defend the embattled organization time and time again.
Now, even he has walked away.
