FIFA President Sepp Blatter told a Swiss newspaper that "continental confederations," rather than football's world governing body, were to blame for the "corruption scandal engulfing the game," according to Bart & Homewood of REUTERS. In a "wide-ranging interview with the right-wing weekly Weltwoche, published on Thursday, Blatter maintained his view" that FIFA had done "nothing wrong and could not be held responsible for the actions of individuals from continental federations." Blatter: "There is no wangling under the direct influence of FIFA. But our influence over contracts concluded by the confederations is practically zero." Asked whether he bore "any responsibility as the head of FIFA," he replied that crime was "a part of all walks of life." Blatter: "It is impossible to stamp out robbery and murder, even with a functioning courts system down to community level. Soccer is not better than our society" (REUTERS, 7/9). SWISS INFO reported Blatter re-emphasized his decision to step down, saying that he would "leave FIFA even if the extraordinary congress asked him to stay." He added, however, that he "thought the criticism against him was rooted in envy." Blatter: "This envy has been festering for years. Envy is a predicate to jealousy. And jealousy is rooted in love. This can however turn to hate. And that's what happened when this tsunami hit us two days before the congress." Blatter said that "the root of the envy" was in part the appointment of Brazilian João Havelange as FIFA president in '74 instead of English candidate Stanley Rous. Asked why he did not "do more to prevent any wrongdoing" within his organization, Blatter "sarcastically" answered, "I not only see everything, I'm responsible for everything, even for the English women's own goal at the World Cup recently. ... Am I responsible for climate change too?" (SWISS INFO, 7/9).
'NO THREAT': REUTERS' Mike Collett reported Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that there is "no threat of Russia being stripped of the World Cup due to the impending change of FIFA president" or the FBI probe into alleged corruption at FIFA. But Mutko, a member of FIFA's exec committee, added that "drastic change was needed" at "a world class organization" that "needed to reclaim the trust of fans." Speaking in Moscow at the start of a tour of the 11 World Cup cities, Mutko said, "No change in management at FIFA will change anything" (REUTERS, 7/8).
