The next regions that we need to conquer would be China and India. He added: "Football has become a political matter. Heads of state court me. Football has become a monster, but it's a positive monster. Blatter dismissed suggestions that Fifa officials are tempted to cash in on football's global importance: "Nobody can come along and simply hold out their hand.
There are no rotten eggs. That is nonsense. We are financially clean and clear. But Blatter admitted Fifa could not act as if nothing had happened, adding he wanted to set up a taskforce to look into compliance issues, without giving details: "We need to improve our image. This is extraordinary. He cannot mean that English clubs are dominating the Champions League, they have won it only three times since the competition's relaunch in , which is fewer than the Spanish four and the same as the Italians.
If he means the Premier League is signing the best players, then it has ever been thus that one of Spain, Italy or England has been dominant in the transfer market. But that does not affect the quality or spirit of competition within a league. In Portugal, champions Porto are no more able to compete with English clubs for players than lowly Vitoria Setubal. Unless anyone can prove a direct causal link between televised Premier League football and a dip in attendances at, say, FC Volendam, it is hard to see how the English can be held responsible for upsetting the equilibrium of, for example, the Netherlands.
Of course, we did send them Steve McClaren — which could be construed as a hostile gesture — but he is doing very nicely at FC Twente. What exactly is wrong with that? What is not to like about a league which has just nine points separating the 12 teams from eighth place to 19th? It suggests equality and a healthy sense of competition.
In the three major European leagues which have 20 clubs, the tables demonstrate far less equality. From eighth to 19th in Spain the gap, before this weekend's action, was 18 points — twice that of the Premier League.
And the story was similar in Italy 16 and France But Blatter was off again, rushing through the rest of his Reasons To Blame English Football, which sounded suspiciously like it had been scribbled on the back of a fag packet in the departures lounge at Zurich airport.
After that, Blatter launched into a rambling exposition on clubs adopting quotas for fielding home-grown players, ending with the baffling "then if this is then the wish and the will of everybody in football then we will have the system with American sport, sooner or later we will have that and then where we are [sic].
Where we are is that English football is facing up to an uncomfortable truth. Fifa might give England its tournament in but it seems like, in return, the English will have to accede to whatever demands Fifa makes upon the domestic game.
There are things wrong with English football — it has its share of greedy, unscrupulous individuals — but that does not mean English football needs to bow to the greedy, unscrupulous individuals at Fifa to deal with it. We are in a game, and at the end of the game, we shake hands, and this can happen, because we have worked so hard against racism and discrimination. Blatter attempted to play down his remarks afterwards by issuing a statement where he pledged his commitment to stamping out racism.
Blatter, whose organisation has been beset by corruption allegations in the recent past, has made a series of gaffes over the years. He called on women players to wear skimpier kits and upset homosexuals by saying they should not engage in sexual relations at the Qatar World Cup.
Sports News Updated.
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