Suspended Federation Internationale Football Associations (FIFA) president Sepp Blatter has blamed the European Union, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and its president Michel Platini for the ongoing crisis in FIFA which has seen several of its officials arrested on various charges of corruption by Swiss and American authorities.

Blatter and Platini were suspended earlier this month after allegations of corruption against them. Blatter was accused of signing an undervalued TV rights deal with disgraced former FIFA official Jack Warner’s company and which is believed to have caused financial losses to the world governing body.

He is also accused of making a ‘disloyalty payment’ of €2 million (AU $3.1 million) to Platini in 2011, which both claim was for work done nine years previously, between 1999 and 2002.

Speaking to Russian news agency TASS, Blatter went on to insist that Russia would not be stripped of its right to host the 2018 World Cup even if allegations of corruption in the bidding process were proved, as it was too late to change the venue, going on to claim that the U.S was initially supposed to be the 2022 World Cup host, but the votes swung in Qatar’s favour after UEFA chief Platini backed them instead following a meeting with the Qatari crown prince and former French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Blatter also claimed that he would have preferred to step down at the end of the 2014 World Cup, but all continental confederations except UEFA wanted him to stay, adding that Platini was the one who started attacking Blatter to get him removed as president of FIFA.

“The European Union’s parliament has taken resolutions twice – first, Blatter shall not be elected. But that is political interference in sport. And after being elected Blatter should go out. Twice they did it. The European Union Parliament,” Blatter told TASS.

Blatter went on to add that after Platini’s initial attacks against him, it became a political issue among various members who had competed against each other for the World Cup hosting rights as well, with England going up against Russia and the U.S.A attacking Qatar. Blatter said that football’s world governing body was incapable of being destroyed, that it was not a Swiss bank or a commercial company, which is why UEFA, in collaboration with the Swiss and American authorities, had tried to attack FIFA and its presidency in this manner.

Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au, or let us know what you think below.

RELATED STORIES