“Football and the World Cup are too big for that,” the former president of the world football’s governing body, FIFA said in an interview with the newspapers of the Swiss Tamedia group on Tuesday.
It had been a bad choice, he said. “And I bore responsibility for that as president at the time,” Blatter said.
Originally, the executive committee had wanted to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to the United States. “It would have been a gesture of peace if the two political opponents had hosted the World Cup one after the other,” Blatter said. But important votes then went to Qatar.
Blatter again citied a meeting between the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Michel Platini, the former head of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)for swaying key votes.
Acquittal
Blatter said his acquittal for fraud before Switzerland’s federal criminal court in July is unequivocal and “no second-class acquittal.”
In October, however, the federal prosecutors office filed a definitive appeal against the acquittal in the trial against Blatter and Platini. Both ex-bosses applied to the appeals court for the complete annulment of the first-instance verdict.
Blatter does not see the fact that only the prosecutors office and not FIFA appealed against the court’s verdict at the beginning of July as a sign of peace. “On the contrary,” he said, accusing the current head of FIFA Gianni Infantino of avoiding him. He also says that the decision’s continuation is incomprehensible; everything had proceeded transparently.
According to Blatter, the fact that investigations had come about at all was due to resentment on the other side of the Atlantic.
“The Americans, with whom the Swiss prosecutors cooperated, were angry because the World Cup tournament had not gone to them but to Qatar.” While this was not corroborated, the ex-FIFA chief conceded. “History will show how it was.”
Popular Stories
More
Workplace Switzerland
Trump tariff shock: how Switzerland is positioning itself
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
An atomic ‘tick-tock’ with Swiss technology heads to space to test the Einstein effect
This content was published on
On Monday, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched the ACES set of atomic clocks to measure the effect of gravity on the passage of time.
Swiss Guard swearing-in ceremony postponed following Pope Francis death
This content was published on
The swearing-in ceremony of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, which usually takes place on May 6 each year, has been postponed to a date to be announced next autumn.
Swiss medical device maker Ypsomed to sell diabetes business
This content was published on
Bern-based injection device manufacturer Ypsomed announced on Tuesday that it was selling its diabetes-related activities.
Award-winning Swiss author and scholar Peter von Matt dies aged 87
This content was published on
The Alemannic writer and former professor of German literature Peter von Matt died on Monday in Zurich at the age of 87, following a long illness.
Swiss foreign minister spoke with Iranian counterpart about US dialogue
This content was published on
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has spoken with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi about the current dialogue between the US and Iran.
Swiss foreign minister appeals for cohesion and dialogue at Expo in Japan
This content was published on
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis called for cohesion and dialogue at the opening of the Swiss National Day at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, on Tuesday.
Switzerland postpones launch of emergency number for domestic violence victims
This content was published on
The launch of the “142” emergency number, which aims to help victims of domestic violence in Switzerland, has been postponed to May 2026.
Swiss prosecutors appeal acquittals of Blatter and Platini
This content was published on
Swiss federal prosecutors have filed an appeal to overturn the acquittals of former Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini on corruption charges.
This content was published on
After being chosen as World Cup host, Qatar set its sights on Geneva as the place to roll out a massive PR campaign to boost its image.
‘Project Merciless’: how Qatar spied on the world of football in Switzerland
This content was published on
Qatar orchestrated a major intelligence operation against FIFA officials helped by ex-CIA agents. Switzerland was a key theatre of operations.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.