1 May 2013

Havelange resigns as FIFA honorary president

12:22 pm on 1 May 2013

Joao Havelange has resigned as FIFA's honorary president after a report ruled he had taken bribes.

The 96-year-old Brazilian was described as "morally and ethically reproachable" for taking kickbacks from a World Cup rights marketing agency.

However, while the report says that payments made in the 1990s to Havelange, who was president of world football's governing body from 1974 to 1988, qualified as bribes, they were not crimes at the time.

FIFA granted International Sport and Leisure exclusive rights to market World Cup tournaments to some of the world's biggest brands. ISL also received millions more from negotiating television broadcast rights.

The company collapsed with huge debts in 2001 and its arrangement with FIFA was subsequently investigated by Swiss authorities.