The leader who made a career out of dodging scandals

Zurich

IF Wednesday's sweeping arrests of several Fifa officials at a five-star hotel in Zurich turn out to be the moment when everything finally started to unravel for Sepp Blatter, it would be hard to imagine a more appropriate setting. Mr Blatter, president of soccer's governing body, has long been accused of running his organisation like a Swiss bank, providing a minimum of transparency when it comes to the billions of dollars that flow into and out of its coffers every year.

Mr Blatter has worked at Fifa since 1975, rising from technical director to general secretary to president.