ZURICH, Switzerland - FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA chief Lennart Johansson met Thursday to coordinate efforts to defend the autonomy of soccer.

FIFA said pressure on soccer's governing bodies is increasing and that major clubs, as well as economic and commercial forces, player agents and governments, are trying to intervene in soccer governance.

Blatter and Johansson studied the Independent European Sports Review, an EU-backed report released in May, which said financial scandals, corruption and racism had left European soccer in a dire state and called on the "direct involvement of political leaders" to put the sport back on track.

The report called for stricter corporate governance in the wake of betting and match-fixing scandals in Germany and Italy as well as financial difficulties that affect many European clubs.

In a statement Thursday, FIFA said Blatter and Johansson supported the need for "legal certainty" and a clear definition of the borderline between governmental and sporting responsibilities.

But while they accepted the requests from political institutions regarding the need for proper governance, they wanted to "take upon ourselves this responsibility in football."

"We consider that there is no need for the European Union to establish a European Sports Agency because we think it will only increase bureaucracy and the risk of political intervention in sport," the statement said. "We are convinced that FIFA and UEFA together can find a sound agreement between football and the political authorities in Europe and in the rest of the world on how to cooperate for the good of the development of our sport."

FIFA has been in a dispute with the European Union. Brussels has said that in addition to new rules for corporate governance in soccer, it would like to impose tougher rules on players' agents and perhaps set a salary cap.

For years, FIFA has been involved in a feud with the G14 group of the richest European clubs. Blatter has described soccer as in danger of being destroyed by wealthy club owners who pour "pornographic amounts of money" into the game.

UEFA cooperated closely with the report. Concrete proposals based on the report are expected by the end of the year.

FIFA has expressed concern of other cases of government interference in soccer in Algeria, Cambodia, Iran, Nigeria, Poland and Portugal. FIFA again suspended Kenya's soccer federation for failing to prevent the country's government from interfering in the sport.