Embattled soccer boss Sepp Blatter said the United States began to hound him and FIFA officials following the decision of the world foortball governing body to award the hosting of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.
Blatter who has been suspended from his post as FIFA president sensationally revealed that there was an unwritten agreement that once the 2018 hosting went to Russia, 2022 should go to the USA, being rival superpowers.
He spoke today in an interview with Financial Times, his second this week. He had previously spoken with the Russian news agency, TASS.
“The solution that has been agreed, not in writing, but it has been agreed [was], let’s go to the two superpowers in the vote for the World Cup: let’s go to Russia and let’s go to the United States,” he told the FT.
Blatter said that decision had not been taken officially by FIFA’s full executive committee but was rather an agreement taken “behind the scenes”.
“It was diplomatically arranged,” he added.
The plan fell apart, according to Blatter, when Platini changed his mind and backed Qatar for the 2022 World Cup under pressure from the then-French president, Nicolas Sarkozy.
The plan fell apart, according to Blatter, when Platini changed his mind and backed Qatar for the 2022 World Cup under pressure from the then-French president, Nicolas Sarkozy.
Blatter said the problems at FIFA had all started with the vote to award the tournament to Qatar – a small desert country with no real soccer tradition and where daytime temperatures can top 40 degrees Celsius (104F).
“If you see my face when I opened it (the envelope containing the winning bid), I was not the happiest man to say it is Qatar,” he said. “Definitely not.”
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