“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?
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
‘Pressure will increase on Switzerland to invest more in defence’
This content was published on
Markus Mäder, Switzerland's state secretary for security policy, believes that more cooperation is needed in order to strengthen defence in Europe.
Just one in five Swiss attend a religious service at Easter
This content was published on
Only one in five people in Switzerland attend a religious service during the Easter period or give up meat or alcohol for at least one day of fasting. Around 25% of those polled see Easter primarily as a family holiday, according to the survey.
Major road disruptions continue after heavy snowfall in parts of Switzerland
This content was published on
The snowfall has ended in the southern Swiss canton of Valais, the cantonal emergency services said on Friday. Several roads, however, remain closed.
Swiss businessman gets prison term for asbestos deaths
This content was published on
Stephan Schmidheiny has been sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in prison by the Turin Court of Appeal in a case against the former Eternit executive over deaths linked to asbestos exposure in Italy.
This content was published on
Swiss imports and exports reached new heights in the first quarter, driven by the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors. Shipments to the US rose sharply.
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.