UEFA members to back Jordan's Prince Ali as FIFA president

ZURICH (Reuters) - A majority of UEFA's member associations will vote for Jordan's Prince Ali bin Al Hussein to succeed Sepp Blatter as the next FIFA president, UEFA President Michel Platini said on Thursday. "A large majority of the European associations will all vote for Prince Ali," Platini told a news conference in Zurich, a day after several senior FIFA officials were arrested on U.S. corruption charges. Platini said that during Thursday morning's emergency meeting at FIFA, he told Blatter to step down in light of the scandal that has engulfed the world soccer body. "I said, I'm asking you to leave, FIFA's image is terrible. He said that he couldn't leave all of a sudden." Platini added: "I'm saying this with sadness and tears in my eyes, but there have been too many scandals, FIFA doesn't deserve to be treated that way. (Reporting by Brian Homewood and Mike Collett; Editing by Giles Elgood)