I recognise my sins, but never regret them, claims Blatter

By Andrew Warshaw

November 20 – Two days after apologising for his gaffe over racism on the field, FIFA President Sepp Blatter launched a another trouble-shooting offensive today aimed at restoring his battered reputation.

Following widespread condemnation – in the UK if nowhere else – over his claim that racist comments should be settled by a handshake, Blatter gave an extensive interview in question and answer format to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine in conjunction with FIFA’s website.

Asked whether he had made mistakes in 13 years at the head of world football, he admitted as much but made no reference to the latest furore. Instead, he hinted that others would fall on their swords before he does.

“Look at it this way: Anyone who works a lot makes mistakes from time to time,” said Blatter who is endeavouring to play the role of reformer in his final four years in office.

“One thing I would never do again is allow the Executive Committee to award two World Cups at once.

“It led to a conflict of interests because everyone was able to vote, even if their own country was involved in the bidding.

“That was a mistake.

“We need to bring the image of FIFA back to the same level as football.

“Football has a very positive image.”

Before the recent row over racism, Blatter had been planning to address selected journalists at a round table session at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.

No firm date had been set but the provisional gathering has now been postponed twice and not rescheduled until at least after the upcoming Executive Committee meeting in Tokyo in on December 16 and 17, an indication that Blatter has been badly bruised and advised not to go down this route for the time being.

Instead, in what what appeared to be a deliberate damage limitation exercise, Blatter repeated many of the platitudes he has trotted out over the past few weeks but there were several notable remarks just the same.

Oddly, and for the first time as far as this correspondent can remember, Blatter brought religion into the interview.

As a Catholic, he was asked, did he recognise and regret his sins?

“Recognise yes, but never regret.”

And he denied he had been responsible for FIFA spiralling out of control over corruption, pointing the fingers at less scrupulous members of his inner sanctum.

“The leadership body is the Executive Committee and isn’t elected by the President,” Blatter said.

“The members are elected by the six Confederations.

“That way I get people in my Government from various cultures and social milieus.

“They also have varying concepts of ethics and morals.

“I didn’t choose them and I can’t be held accountable for their actions.

“I’m the figurehead of this organisation but I’m not a dictator.

“I’ve brought the Executive Committee to where I want it to be now, though.

“At our last meeting on 21 October, all those members present – four were absent – agreed on a new structure.

“Now I finally have the support I need to implement the necessary reforms.”

Blatter admitted that once these reforms get off the ground, including the re-opening of the infamous ISL case, more heads will roll. But not his.

“It does look like some people won’t be able to stay on the Executive Committee.

“I don’t want to talk specifically about the ISL case.

“We’ll do it openly and publicly and we’ll ask an independent body to judge the documents.

“Those who are hunting me and suggesting that Sepp Blatter is on the list are plain wrong.”

Among the members accused of corruption are Worawi Makudi from Thailand, Issa Hayatou of Cameroon, Nicolas Leoz from Paraguay, Julio Grondona from Argentina and Ricardo Teixeira from Brazil.

Blatter confirmed that Makudi has been asked to provide an explanation over allegations that he used money received from FIFA’s Goal project to build facilities on land he owns personally, but did not elaborate.

Hayatou (pictured above left with Blatter), President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), has been controversially appointed chairman of the Goal programme in succession to Mohamed Bin Hammam – even though he is being investigated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

“We’re not investigating, the IOC is,” said Blatter.

“They’re investigating a sum of under 25,000 Swiss francs (£17,000/$27,000/20,000).

“According to the CAF accounts, which we also examine, the money has been correctly accounted for.”

If any Executive Committeemember is proven guilty under the new reforms, said Blatter. he would either have to resign or “wait to find out what the independent investigators decide.

“I would like to emphasise that the payments made by ISL at the time were not illegal”.

Speaking of a “new dawn” for FIFA, Blatter remains convinced that Executive Committee members would now be “ethically and morally sound”.

“FIFA will demand a solid character reference.”

Including himself?

“Yes, of course.”

He conceded, however, that he was not entirely comfortable with how his top brass are elected.

“If it were up to me alone, I would place all structural bodies under the authority of Congress,” said Blatter.

“It’s up to the Task Force Revision of Statutes, chaired by Dr. Theo Zwanziger, to consider this.

“At the moment they’re elected by the Confederations, but they should just be recommended by the Confederations and elected by Congress.”

Zwanziger, head of the German Football Association, recently replaced Franz Beckenbauer on the FIFA Executive Committee.

Asked specifically to comment on Zwanziger’s assertion that votes for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid may have come about as a result of political pressure, Blatter responded: “I don’t wish to answer that question.

“I’ll leave it to the Good Governance Committee to look into that matter.”

Members of that Committee will be announced after the Executive Committee meeting in Tokyo in December.

But can it have access to the FIFA Ethics Committee’s files?

Yes, said Blatter, including the file on him prior to his re-election on June 1.

“I am not asking for any special treatment,” he said.

“I have nothing to confess, to regret or to apologise for in that regard.”

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