Bolton to Visit Moscow, Plan Possible Trump-Putin Meeting
- by Julia Norris
- in Sport
- — Jun 22, 2018
Blatter, much to FIFA's obvious unease, attended Wednesday's Portugal-Morocco game at the Luzhniki Stadium and then had dinner with Putin and deputy prime minister Vitaly Mutko in the head of state's Kremlin apartment.
His appearance at the World Cup in Russian Federation is therefore potentially embarrassing for FIFA and its new head, Gianni Infantino, who has promised to draw a line under FIFA's corruption problems and clean up the organisation. Both men deny any wrongdoing.
"I am not in football activities".
"We had small talks", Blatter, who converses with Putin in German, told reporters Thursday.
"I'm here to enjoy the World Cup", Blatter said after arriving on Tuesday.
"It is emotional to come here, football is still my life, you can not stop that after working for 41 years in football", he said. "How I was received here, television, cameras, people, photographs, and so on", he said. "It should not be an embarrassment to Federation Internationale de Football Association".
The videos are among a string of incidents in which some Latin American fans are encouraging foreign women to say offensive things in languages they don't appear to understand.
Haley says USA will leave United Nations human rights council
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein on Monday called on Washington to halt its " unconscionable " policy. The 47-member council has a number of powers, including the ability to establish panels that probe alleged human rights abuses.
It was Blatter's first high-profile public appearance since that scandal in 2015, and here his old pal Putin had given him a global platform, one he didn't deserve, to try to sway public opinion. "If you are a judge, I would be happy now if they terminated this matter in the Swiss justice, and they will do it".
This restriction applies to all games of the world Cup, and not only performances of the Russian team.
Blatter, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, said on Thursday he had been invited to the World Cup by Russian Federation, which he said had organised his trip and provided him with tickets and a fan ID.
Good thing he has stayed true to form in his time away from the cameras - Blatter is still a bumbling buffoon, and bungled most of his answers in the Channel 4 interview when repeatedly pressed about the allegations he is facing.
"We have good contacts with Mr Infantino".
Blatter, however, suggested Federation Internationale de Football Association was not troubled by his five-day visit - his first public appearance outside Switzerland since a July 2015 trip to St. Petersburg for the World Cup qualifying draw.
"I was welcomed here, and I have to say, and I've had the impression sometimes that time has stopped - I still feel part of it".
