A tragedy he didn't quit sooner': Football world reacts to Blatter's resignation

The Swiss brought the curtain down on his 17-year reign after a week in which the game's governing body has been rocked by a corruption scandal.Sepp Blatter belatedly gave in to widespread calls for him to resign as Fifa president on Tuesday and numerous leading figures within the world of football wasted little time in welcoming the news.The Swiss had only secured a fifth term on Friday - despite the fact that the game's governing body had been rocked by a corruption scandal just two days beforehand.The 79-year-old vowed to reform Fifa in light of the arrest of numerous officials last week as part of an FBI-led investigation into accusations of bribery dating back to 1991, but Blatter stepped down after it emerged that one of his most senior associates, Jerome Valcke, had allegedly known about a payment of $10 million received by former vice-president Jack Warner in 2008 for supporting South Africa's bid to host the 2010 World Cup.
Uefa president Michel Platini praised his "friend" for taking the "difficult" and "brave" decision to quit, but German Football Association (DFB) president Wolfgang Niersbach slated Blatter for remaining in his post for so long.This is a decision that is absolutely right and which was long overdue," he told Bild. "It's actually a tragedy. He - and all of us - could have been spared had he done so earlier.With the resignation, some, but not all, problems have been solved.Indeed, Brazil icon Romario is now hoping that Blatter's resignation will allow the beautiful game to restore its reputation.Best news of recent times! The resignation of Sepp Blatter as president of Fifa is the beginning of a new era for world football.His fall will come as a tsunami to every corrupt leader in the confederations around the world...I hope that the waters of this great wave are sufficient to wash away all the corruption.We need the corrupt ones in prison, and we need the contributions from great idols, good sports leaders and football lovers.Those sentiments were echoed by Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany, who wants to see a complete changing of the guard within Fifa.