Sepp Blatter's FIFA career began in 1975 as technical director and then general secretary for 17 years before his rise to presidency in 1998.
Despite his 17-year reign being littered with allegations of fraud, money laundering, racketeering and bribery, Blatter showed a remarkable ability to side step controversy.
In 1998 he began his first term as president by dismissing vote-buying claims and in following years, he become accustomed to standing by an increasing number of FIFA officials accused of foul play.
Blatter defiantly and repeatedly defended the reputation of FIFA, at one point telling journalists to “stop staying FIFA is corrupt. FIFA is not corrupt. I do not accept it that FIFA is a corrupt organisation.”
“We have over three hundred million people, and in a family of three hundred million people, there is one or two black sheep…that does not mean that the whole family is corrupt.”
For his supporters, Blatter was a defender of smaller nations, delivering unprecedented wealth. To his critics, like English FA Chairman George Dyke, he was the head of a corrupt empire.
In 2010, successful World Cup bids by Russia and Qatar prompted more intense scrutiny that dogged Blatter's fourth term as president. Blatter responded by adopting a siege mentality at FIFA. “Crisis, what is a crisis? If some of you will describe to me what it is a crisis then I would answer. Football is not in a crisis."
"FIFA is not corrupt. I do not accept it that FIFA is a corrupt organisation."
The 79-year-old was seen by many as a master tactician, despite raising plenty of eyebrows with a number of misdirected comments. He infuriated female players by suggesting they should wear tighter shorts. There were calls for his resignation when he claimed racism can be smoothed over by a simple handshake and he advised gay fans worried about travelling to the World Cup in Qatar - where homosexuality is illegal - to “refrain from any sexual activities.”
At his re-election for a fifth term, Blatter ushered in a new era of transparency. But just four days later, new evidence emerged linking FIFA bribes to the 2010 South African World Cup bid. It was also revealed that the FIFA President himself was under FBI investigation. Blatter resigned, citing the need for "profound change" in FIFA. He will serve until an election can take place to determine his successor.
