Suspended FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he was a "ball in a big political power game" involving the U.S. and Russia in an interview in which he also criticized suspended UEFA President Michel Platini for playing a part in attacks on him, according to Simon Evans of REUTERS. In the interview with Russia's TASS news agency, Blatter "also praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and said Russia would never lose the 2018 World Cup despite calls from some quarters in Britain." Blatter is serving a 90-day suspension imposed by FIFA's Ethics Committee, which is looking into a 2M Swiss franc payment he made to Platini in '11 -- a case "which is also part of a Swiss criminal investigation." Blatter said politics were behind "attacks" on him which followed the indictment of 14 football officials and sports marketing execs by U.S. prosecutors in May. Blatter said, "At the beginning it was only a personal attack. It was Platini against me. He started it, but then it became politics. And when it is in politics, it is not any longer Platini against me. It is then those who have lost the World Cup. England against Russia. They lost the World Cup. And the U.S.A. lost the World Cup against Qatar. But you cannot destroy FIFA. FIFA is not the Swiss bank. FIFA is not a commercial company. So, what they have done together with the Swiss, they have created this attack towards FIFA and the president of FIFA." Blatter said that Russia would "never lose the World Cup" which it is due to host in '18 despite calls from some, especially in Britain, for the tournament to be taken away from them. Denouncing England as "bad losers" for losing the
2018 World Cup to Russia, he said, "In Great Britain they have made
this beautiful game, they have introduced fair play. But there was only
one vote going for England. They were eliminated in the first round.
Nobody wanted to have England" (REUTERS, 10/28). In London, Josh Burrows wrote Blatter said that Qatar "was never intended as the host for the 2022 World Cup." Blatter admitted that if the tournament had been awarded to the U.S. instead, FIFA "may never have become embroiled in scandal." The decision "to take football's showpiece event to a tiny desert nation with no sporting history appears to be the moment that Blatter's FIFA presidency began to unravel." Blatter: "In 2010 we had a discussion about the World Cup and then we went to a double decision. For the World Cups it was agreed that we go to Russia [in '18] because it's never been in Russia, eastern Europe, and for 2022 we go back to America. And so we will have the World Cup in the two biggest political powers. And everything was good until the moment when Sarkozy came in a meeting with the crown prince of Qatar, who is now the ruler of Qatar [Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani]. And at a lunch afterwards with Mr. Platini he said it would be good to go to Qatar. And this has changed everything" (LONDON TIMES, 10/28). The AP's Graham Dunbar wrote Blatter lashed out at the ethics committee for being "against me" and criticized his 90-day ban as being "total nonsense." Blatter said, "And they wanted to say, 'We, ethics
committee, we are not at the service of the president, we are totally
independent.' This is wrong. They can
be independent but they don't need to be against me." He "also seemed frustrated at losing
control of decision-making power" at FIFA. Blatter: "It's total nonsense. This is not justice. I put these
people into the office, where they are now in the ethics committee, and
they don't even have had the courage to listen to the secretary general,
Platini or me." The interview "gave the clearest insight yet on his views since being suspended on Oct. 8" (AP, 10/28).
DYKE HITS OUT AT FIFA: In London, Hamish Mackay wrote FA Chair Greg Dyke told members of parliament that FIFA is a "corrupt organization" and has been "for 40 years." Dyke "was hauled before" the Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee to explain why English football's governing body backed Platini for the FIFA presidency. The former head of the BBC told MPs that he thought backing Platini would "lead to a better relationship with FIFA." He added, "Our view was Mr. Platini would be significantly better president than Mr. Blatter." But "it was his comments regarding corruption within FIFA that really caught the attention of Britain's politicians." Dyke said, "FIFA is a corrupt organization -- and has been for 40 years." Asked whether everyone involved in the organization had colluded in the corruption, Dyke replied, "Yes ... including all the FAs." Dyke also said that "the FA will look into suspended FIFA president Blatter's revelation that there was an agreement in place for the 2018 World Cup to go to Russia even before the vote took place." The FA spent £21M ($32M) on England's '18 failed bid including £2.5M ($3.8M) public money from local authorities, and Dyke said it would be "very nice" to get that money back (DAILY MIRROR, 10/28).
