Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter admits the decision to award Qatar the World Cup hosting rights was a mistake.
Blatter was the world football governing body’s president in 2010 when Qatar won the rights. His executive committee controversially awarded the hosting rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, respectively.
Qatar has faced criticism over its treatment of migrant workers. Discriminative LGBT+ laws have also hogged the limelight. On the other hand, the tournament also had to be moved to November and December due to the heat.
CONTROVERSIAL DECISION
Fifa’s decision to stage the World Cup in Qatar has also been the subject of scepticism. Several members of the executive committee who voted in 2010 were later convicted or indicted in criminal or ethics cases.
Blatter, who maintains he did not vote for Qatar, was cleared of fraud charges by a Swiss court in July. This follows a £1.7m payment to the former Uefa president Michel Platini. Platini remains banned from football because of the incident.
In an interview with the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger, Blatter’s first interview since he was acquitted of the charges.
The 86-year-old said he wanted to award the 2018 and 2022 editions to Russia and the United States of America. He believes that would have been a “gesture of peace”. Only for the executive committee to vote in favour of Qatar.
QATAR WORLD CUP A MISTAKE
“The choice of Qatar was a mistake,” Blatter said.
“At the time, we agreed in the executive committee that Russia should get the 2018 World Cup and the USA that of 2022. It would have been a gesture of peace if the two long-standing political opponents had hosted the World Cup one after the other.
“It’s too small a country. Football and the World Cup are too big for that.”
Asked if he felt responsible for the decision, Blatter replied: “For me, it is clear: Qatar is a mistake. The choice was bad. What I’m wondering: why is the new Fifa president [Gianni Infantino] living in Qatar? He can’t be the head of the local World Cup organisation. That’s not his job. There are two organising committees for this, a local one and one from Fifa.”
Blatter said he was glad the World Cup was going ahead in the country, despite his regret at the decision.
“I can only repeat: the award to Qatar was a mistake, and I was responsible for that as president at the time,” he said. “Now that the World Cup is imminent, I’m glad that, with a few exceptions, no footballers are boycotting the World Cup.”
