Jamaica’s football boss Captain Horace Burrell says the shock resignation of FIFA president Joseph Blatter just four days after he was re-elected to a fifth term of office should be respected by all.

The CONCACAF executive committee member sought to remind those who follow the game, or involved in it directly at any level, that football will always be “bigger than any individual”.

“Football is bigger than any individual, and irrespective of who holds the top job, the business of football must go on. Mr Blatter has made his decision to step down as FIFA president and we should all respect it. We must now move on,” said Burrell, refusing to comment further.

Blatter has long been hailed as a sort of Messiah for the small members of FIFA, particularly those countries in the so-called Developing World of Africa and the Caribbean.

At the last CONCACAF Congress in the Bahamas in April, the 79-year-old Swiss was likened to Jesus Christ as Caribbean members showered praise on him for his development initiatives that aided the growth of the region’s game at an unprecedented rate.

When the news broke of Blatter’s resignation, reactions of shock by his loyal supporters went viral, while his opponents celebrated.

Blatter, who led the world’s most powerful sporting body, bowed to pressure as a deep-rooted and widespread corruption scandal has sent FIFA into a tailspin.

“While I have a mandate from the membership of FIFA, I do not feel that I have a mandate from the entire world of football — the fans, the players, the clubs, the people who live, breathe and love football as much as we all do at FIFA,” he said as he announced his resignation on Tuesday from FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.

“It is my deep care for FIFA and its interests, which I hold very dear, that has led me to take this decision,” Blatter added

Nine high-ranking FIFA officials, including former CONCACAF president and FIFA vice-president Jeffrey Webb, are among 14 football officials and sports marketing executives named in indictment papers by US prosecutors, accusing them of being involved in a bribery scheme worth more than $150 million.

Seven of the FIFA officials, including Webb, were arrested by Swiss law enforcement authorities in pre-dawn raid last week Wednesday at their luxurious hotel in Zurich where they were attending the FIFA congress.

The raid was accompanied by the launch of a Swiss police investigation into the award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup to Russia and Qatar.

Blatter had repeatedly pleaded his innocence and that of FIFA over the corruption.

Burrell, when reached yesterday, said he did not wish to comment any further on the swirling corruption scandal, except for what he said in a statement on Friday where he expressed “shock and disbelief” at the emerging allegations.

“I am extremely disappointed with the whole situation and the negative effects that this is having on the sport globally and regionally,” he was quoted as saying.