Wednesday 8 December 2010

Sepp Blatter: England Are Bad Losers

Sepp Blatter gives his reaction to the losing bids
Fifa president Sepp Blatter has blasted England, labelling them as 'bad losers' following their failed 2018 World Cup bid, the decision sparked outrage after Fifa awarded 2018 World Cup to Russia last week.

England’s bid fell at the first hurdle after getting eliminated in the first round, only recording two votes with one coming from former FA chairman, Geoff Thompson. Russia and Qatar were last week chosen by Fifa's executive committee to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively.

A BBC Panorama documentary and the Sunday Times revealed corruption within Fifa and that committee members Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii accepted money in return for their votes.

Blatter insists he was shocked by the reaction in England, after England learned that they lost in their bid to host the 2018 World Cup and also criticised the reaction of all losing bidders.

"To be honest, I was surprised by all the English complaining after the defeat. England, of all people, the motherland of fairplay ideas," Blatter told Swiss magazine Weltwoche.

"Now some of them are showing themselves to be bad losers. You can't come afterwards and say so and so promised to vote for England.

"The results are known. The outcome came out clearly.

"I really sense in some reactions a bit of the arrogance of the western world of Christian background. Some simply can't bear it if others get a chance for a change.

"What can be wrong if we start football in regions where this sport demonstrates a potential which goes far beyond sport?"

Speaking on Corruption in Fifa’s organization, he added; "There is no systematic corruption in FIFA. That is nonsense," he said. "We are financially clean and clear."

But Blatter said FIFA could not act as if nothing had happened, adding he wanted to set up a taskforce to look into compliance issues, without giving details.

"We need to improve our image. We also need to clarify some things within FIFA," he said.

Asked if he would still be FIFA president to open the Qatar World Cup in 2022, Blatter said: "Definitely not. If God wills it, I will be invited to the opening party on crutches or in a wheelchair." Best Blogger Tips
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