Medicine after death: Sepp Blatter brands Qatar tournament a ‘mistake’

Ex-FIFA president Sepp Blatter has admitted the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar was a “mistake”.

The build to the tournament has focused far more on the string of accusations levelled at the country; corruption, sportswashing, migrant deaths and mistreatment and criminalisation of same-sex relations; than on anything to do with football itself.

Blatter, as president, was part of FIFA’s executive committee in 2010 which controversially awarded 2022 tournament to Qatar, as well as 2018 to Russia. His entire reign from 1998 to 2015 was dogged by consistent allegations of financial misconduct and corruption.

In his first interview since being acquitted on fraud charges in July for a £1.7m payment to ex-UEFA president Michel Platini with Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger, per Sky Sports, Blatter now accepts Qatar was a “mistake” but more so for it being “too small a country” for a World Cup as opposed to the real-life issues there.

He also claimed in the same interview that he did not vote for Qatar himself and that his preference was for 2022 to go to USA in a “gesture of peace” with Russia  two political rivals hosting the biggest sports event in the world one after the other.

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Blatter does overall take responsibility for the World Cup being in Qatar as president during the bidding process but stops short of admitting Russia used the tournament as a “propaganda platform” although he now claims to have no contact with Vladimir Putin.

His final dig is aimed at his successor, current FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who’s current residence in Qatar is questioned. Blatter claims “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.”