July 2 – In his most hard-hitting interview since announcing he is quitting as FIFA president, Sepp Blatter has dismissed any suggestion that he is corrupt, insists he is clean and says his detractors “should go to jail.”
Blatter is set to step down after 17 years in the job amid widespread allegations of corruption within FIFA and the charging of 14 officials as part of an FBI investigation.
The 79-year-old Swiss has not been cited for any wrongdoing and has hit back at speculation to the contrary.
“I have a clean conscience,” Blatter told German magazine Bunte. ” If somebody accuses me of being corrupt, I ask him whether he knows the meaning of that word. Whoever calls me corrupt will have to prove it, but nobody can prove that because I am not corrupt.
“I am open to correct or positive criticism. I can use that to reconsider if I need to change in the future. But if anybody calls me corrupt because FIFA is corrupt, I can only shake my head. Everybody who says something like that should go to jail.”
Blatter says his religious faith has helped him deal with the crisis that has engulfed FIFA.
“My faith has given me strength during the last week. I am a religious person and pray, too. I own a golden cross that has been blessed by Pope Francis. I believe I will go to heaven one day. But I believe there is no hell. I disagree with the Pope on that.”
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