By Andrew Warshaw
April 12 – Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has added his voice to growing discontent over the criteria for selecting the 2026 World Cup hosts.
Underdog Morocco’s African supporters are bitterly upset at too much power being handed to the all-important evaluation panel that has the authority to disqualify a candidate before the ballot, scheduled for June 13 in Moscow, even takes place.
The report of the Task Force, which is currently in the middle of its inspection visit, is crucial to the outcome but Morocco’s backers are uncomfortable with the make-up of the panel whose members are perceived to be strong allies of Gianni Infantino, Blatter’s successor.
Infantino is widely reported to privately favour the heavyweight USA-Canada-Mexico bid and Blatter says he is shocked at the new rules that have been put in place over procedure.
For the first time ever, every FIFA federation will vote to choose the World Cup hosts following a change proposed by Blatter while he was president. He says he is shocked by the evaluation panel’s right to throw out a candidate before the process even gets that far.
Blatter, currently still banned for unethical conduct but who has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, told Reuters that both candidates should have the right to present their bids to Congress.
“That is not possible,” he said of the Task Force’s enhanced powers. “You cannot deny one of the candidates (the chance) to go to Congress. This is a principle and I stick to this principle… I was shocked.”
Blatter, now 82, is also wary of the video assistant referee (VAR) system which was approved by soccer’s rule-making body IFAB in March and will be used at this year’s World Cup.
“For a purist in football as I am, I think it is an innovation which is going too fast,” said Blatter.
“Most of the referees have never worked this system and to go to the World Cup and to introduce this system in the World Cup, I think it is not very clever. I don’t feel comfortable, definitely not, and spectators don’t feel comfortable.”
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