Was pressured to resign: Blatter

Geneva: FIFA president Sepp Blatter said late Monday that his resignation was motivated by the "pressure" he received after the arrest of seven senior FIFA officials.

Blatter said he was happy to be alive after "the post-May 27 tsunami", which did not incriminate him.

The 79-year old president recalled that he was re-elected on May 29 with the support of 130 of his constituencies, but four days later, on June 2, his resignation was put "at the disposal" of the entity due to the pressures received.

The pressure did not only result from what happened, but there was "political interference" and "pressure from some media" also, Blatter explained.

He asserted that he does not view his resignation as defeat, as he reminded his audience: "I'm still the elected president of FIFA."