SEOUL, May 31: FIFA president Sepp Blatter tightened his grip on world soccer on Friday when his rivals halted legal action against him and his estranged general secretary agreed to step down.

FIFA announced the news in a statement hours before the start of the 2002 World Cup and just two days after Blatter ended months of in-fighting in world soccer’s governing body by winning a second four-year term by a landslide.

The statement, following the first meeting of a new FIFA executive committee controlled by Blatter supporters, said Michel Zen-Ruffinen would remain in charge of the month-long tournament, but would leave his post four days after the final.

It added that 11 executive committee members, who instigated legal proceedings in a Swiss court alleging misuse of funds, would withdraw the action with immediate effect.

“The executive committee meeting in Seoul has reached agreement with the general secretary Michel Zen-Ruffinen...that their contractual relationship will end on July 4,” the statement said.

“In the meantime he will continue to be in charge of the World Cup,” it added, noting that Zen-Ruffinen would leave his job four days after the June 30 World Cup final in Yokohama.

The executive, with a majority of Blatter supporters for the first time, agreed to a proposal from senior vice-president Julio Grondona of Argentina that the legal action against Blatter should be dropped.

Nine of the 11 are still on the executive committee. The 11 lodged their case with the Zurich prosecutor following a report from Zen-Ruffinen on May 3 alleging Blatter may have been guilty of criminal charges for the way he ran FIFA.

“The 11 executive committee members who had instigated legal proceedings agreed their legal action be withdrawn immediately,” the statement said.

Zen-Ruffinen had been hand-picked for the job by Blatter in 1998, but their relationship quickly soured.

Friday’s decision was taken at a hastily arranged meeting of the new FIFA executive committee with its majority of Blatter supporters.

Zen-Ruffinen has paid the price for openly accusing Blatter of mismanagement of football’s world body.

On Thursday Blatter told Blick newspaper in Switzerland:

“On Friday the executive committee will deal with our Mr Clean. This is it,” he said, adding: “The latest negative comments from Zen-Ruffinen after my election put the nail in the coffin.”

Zen-Ruffinen sided with Blatter’s critics and accused him of systematically mismanaging FIFA since he was first elected in 1998.—Reuters