Newly elected Blatter slams FBI investigation and European ‘hate’ campaign

Sepp Blatter says he is “shocked” at the way the US judiciary has targeted FIFA and slammed a “hate” campaign by Europe’s football leaders. His comments came as a top American investigator said he was “fairly confident” there would be more indictments in the corruption scandal engulfing world football’s governing body. In an interview with Swiss television, Blatter said he suspected the arrest of seven FIFA officials on Wednesday under a US anti-corruption warrant was an attempt to “interfere with the congress” at which he was elected Friday.

I am not certain, but it doesn’t smell good.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter

Blatter noted that the United States had lost the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, and England, another major critic, lost the 2018 World Cup to Russia. He said the United States was the “number one sponsor” of Jordan, where his challenger for the FIFA presidency Prince Ali bin al Hussein comes from. Blatter also hit out at UEFA president Michel Platini, who had called for his resignation over the corruption scandals.

It is a hate that comes not just from a person at UEFA, it comes from the UEFA organisation that cannot understand that in 1998 I became president.

Sepp Blatter

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