his insistence that Qatar host the 2022 World Cup is
the root of FIFA's controversy.
Suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter says a "personal attack"
from Michel Platini and UEFA-led changes in the 2022 World
Cup voting process is at the root of the corruption scandal
engulfing world football's governing body.
The United States Department of Justice indicted 14 people,
including nine past and present FIFA officials, on charges
of racketeering conspiracy and corruption related to the bidding
process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Blatter has now revealed that an agreement had been in place
for the 2022 World Cup to be hosted by the United States, only
for Platini to head a European-led swing in favour for Qatar,
after an alleged meeting with Qatari officials.
The Swiss told Russian news agency TASS: "For the World Cups
it was agreed that we go to Russia 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 [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 all pattern. There was an election by
secret ballot. Four votes from Europe went away from the USA
and so the result was fourteen to eight.
"If you put the four votes, it would have been twelve to ten. If
the USA was given the World Cup, we would only speak about
the wonderful World Cup 2018 in Russia and we would not
speak about any problems at FIFA."
Blatter and Platini are currently subject to 90-day bans by FIFA
in relation to an alleged "disloyal payment" made by the
organisation to the Frenchman in 2011 for work that began over
a decade earlier.
Both have denied wrongdoing and appealed the sanctions, with
Blatter explaining that the delay was down to FIFA being unable
to afford Platini's demands to be paid "one million" Swiss francs
a year.
UEFA president Platini has submitted his candidacy to replace
Blatter and has been included on a seven-man shortlist by FIFA,
despite his suspension from all football-related activities, which
can be extended until the week before FIFA's extraordinary
congress where a new chief will be named.
Blatter also spoke of Platini holding a vendetta against him,
which he believes stems from jealousy.
"At the beginning it was only a personal attack. It was Platini
against me," he added. "He started it, but then it became
politics. And when it is in politics, it is not any longer Platini
against me.
"You will have to ask [Platini why he dislikes me] and we will
know. Because he wanted to be FIFA president. But he had not
the courage to go as the president.
"And now we are in such a situation in football. But FIFA is
working well. Since I became president of FIFA, we have made
FIFA a big commercial company. And this naturally provokes
envy and jealousy.
"I think this crisis, and this is also the idea of my lawyers, has
nothing to do with any criminal activity. Has nothing to do. So it
was by perception. And the perception is given by whom? If you
open the newspapers, if you open the television, every day it
said – Blatter must go.
"The victim of all that finally is Platini."
No comments:
Post a Comment