Sepp Blatter to Resign: Twitter Reacts to FIFA President Stepping Down

Sepp Blatter will resign as FIFA president after declaring his intention to call an "extraordinary congress." The announcement comes amid the corruption scandal currently embroiling football's governing body.

Blatter made his statement on Tuesday during a hastily convened press conference in Zurich, per BBC5Live reporter Richard Conway:

BBC Match of the Day host Gary Lineker instantly offered this tongue-in-cheek assessment of the news:

Lineker had been one of Blatter's most vocal critics while the scandal from the recent arrest of FIFA officials raged on. The indictments detailed bribery charges and allegations of rigging World Cup bids involving former Vice-President Jack Warner.

Both the scope and the intensity of the scandal increased when documents were discovered appearing to implicate Secretary General Jerome Valcke, per Sky Sports. Not even Blatter's sudden resignation will quiet the critics or the demand for answers.

Sky Sports analyst Gary Neville is among those still asking questions:

Meanwhile, Daily Mirror writer John Cross believes Blatter hasn't so much walked away as he's been pushed. Cross views the news as the just reward for those who opposed FIFA's stranglehold on the global game:

Greg Dyke, chairman of The Football Association, was even more blunt when describing how this news should be greeted:

Dyke had called for UEFA President Michel Platini to back a proposed boycott of Blatter's now-short-lived re-election during a recent interview with BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek (h/t BBC Sport).

For his part, Platini had suggested a Blatter re-election may not be greeted warmly by European football's ruling organisation, per the BBC Sport Twitter feed:

But it's Dyke who's been the quickest to react. He certainly hasn't minced his words either. He immediately brought the focus back to the financial irregularities at the heart of the current scandal.

Dyke told BBC News' home affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford that following the money should be the next step now that Blatter's no longer blocking the trail:

If you're thinking this is all starting to sound like the plot to some cheaply conceived political thriller, that's because it is. But Dyke didn't stop there.

With World Cup bid rigging fast becoming a part of modern football's pop culture lexicon, Dyke turned his focus toward the proposals for 2022's event:

Strong stuff from Dyke. By contrast, Platini went for soft soap when he eventually reacted to the news, per Conway:

Media personality Piers Morgan added his voice to those rejoicing at the news. Morgan was quick to congratulate the U.S. law enforcement agencies who kick-started the unravelling of FIFA:

Morgan also took the opportunity to champion the so-called power of sporting campaigns and only semi-lightheartedly revived his call for the return of a controversial England cricketer:

Continuing the theme of this news crossing over into other sports, Christopher Clary of the New York Times offered a tennis-centric take. He joked Roger Federer, eliminated at the quarter-final stage of the 2015 French Open, per USA Today Sports' Nick McCarvel, will welcome the distraction from his exit at Roland Garros:

Continuing the revelry, Sports Illustrated's Brian Straus cast his early vote for a major FIFA-endorsed award:

"

Next Ballon d'Or winner: pic.twitter.com/dTW5YTwixb

— Brian Straus (@BrianStraus) June 2, 2015"

Few will be able to deny the cause-and-effect relationship between the actions of U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Blatter's sudden announcement. That's why figures such as Neville are questioning the timing of his decision to step down.

The Daily Mirror's Ed Malyon had some fun with that theme:

For many, though, there hasn't been much to laugh about during this sordid episode in modern football's history. Blatter's impending exit means there's now a chance to repair some of the damage this scandal has done to the credibility and the effectiveness of a vital organisation.