Sepp Blatter was never going to stay quiet.
Ousted from his role at FIFA after many years of controversy and corruption claims, much of it with very good evidence, the Swiss football giant has lost his place at the top table.
No longer can Blatter waltz around the world and oversee the world game, but it doesn’t mean he’s accepted he’s finished.
In an interview with Swiss newspaper Blick, Blatter has made it clear he doesn’t considered himself out of the game, and has talked up a visit to the Russia World Cup.
“I will be present at the opening match Russia against Saudi Arabia on June 14th,” said Blatter. “If Vladimir invites me, also before at the Fifa Congress. Then two Fifa presidents would be present. Gianni Infantino and me. Because I am still president. I was never voted out, just suspended.”
FIFA will hold a big meeting, their ‘Congress’ in Moscow on June 13th, and Infantino is probably hoping Blatter doesn’t try and overshadow the event.
Blick have spoken to FIFA and asked them if Blatter, suspended for six years, is really allowed to attend the World Cup: “He is allowed to go to the World Cup as a spectator, no problem. He does not attend the games in an official capacity.
Congress is a different matter, explained the FIFA spokesperson: “Fifa is sending the invitations.”
Not Putin, then.
Blatter has a book coming out before the World Cup and his presence in Russia, which would no doubt receive a lot of attention, could only help sales. The 82 year old told Blick: “The last corrections have been read. This time it is printed and published by a major French publisher.”
