Letter calls for Mosley to quit 'immediately'
Joint letter from 22 nations calls for "immediate" resignation of FIA president Max Mosley
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Thursday, 29, May 2008 10:15
A joint letter from 24 motoring organisations across 22 countries has called for the "immediate" resignation of FIA president Max Mosley.
The contents of the letter have emerged ahead of next week's extraordinary general meeting of the motorsport governing body, at which Mosley's future will be determined.
It states that personal allegations against the president have meant the FIA's "image, reputation and credibility are being severely eroded".
Mosley was the subject of a News of the World undercover report, which alleged the 68-year-old had been involved in a "Nazi-style" orgy involving five prostitutes.
The letter is a follow-up to Mosley's insistence that he will not stand down over the allegations.
He has apologised over the incident, but continues to assert there were no Nazi overtones to the episode and is considering a number of possibilities of legal action against the publication.
The letter was signed by representatives from America (AAA and AATA), Singapore (AAS), Germany (ADAC), Finland, (AL), Canada (CAA), Brazil (CCB), Denmark (FDM), France (FFA), India (FIAA), Japan (JAF), the Netherlands (KNAC), Sweden (M), Hungary (MAK), Israel (MEMSI), Austria (OEMTC), Spain (RACC and RACE), Belgium (TCB) and Switzerland (TCS).
And a section of the correspondence reads: "We strongly believe that the only respectable way forward for the FIA, and for yourself, is to have an orderly transition, with an immediate agreement and your commitment to step down.
"The FIA is in a critical situation. Its image, reputation and credibility are being severely eroded.
"Every additional day that this situation persists, the damage increases. There is no way back."
Mosley earlier rejected a compromise deal offered to him in exchange for a guaranteed vote of confidence at the June 3rd meeting.
It was proposed by the World Council for Automobile Mobility and Tourism that the FIA president step down in November 2008 - 11 months before his term officially ends - but Mosley rejected the offer.
And this snub has apparently angered the motoring clubs that have collaborated on the letter.
The 24 organisations said they "deeply regret" his refusal to accept the compromise, saying it was "a constructive effort to facilitate an orderly transition within the FIA and to find a solution to the present crisis".
"Instead, your intention to remain until the end of your term in 2009, in spite of the severe damage being inflicted to the FIA, could imply putting personal considerations before the interests of the FIA and its member clubs," the letter added.