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Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter: ‘Qatar is a mistake’ for World Cup

FILE- Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter arrives at a hotel in Moscow, Russia, June 19, 2018. Suspended former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has arrived in Moscow for a World Cup visit at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Former FIFA officials Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini will go on trial charged with fraud and other offenses in June, it was announced Tuesday, April 12, 2022. Switzerland’s federal criminal court says the trial will be heard before a panel of three judges on 11 days between June 8 and 22. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov, file)
by: WRTV Staff
Posted: / Updated:

The former president of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) criticized the pick of Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup saying “the choice was bad.”

Sepp Blatter made the comments to a Swiss newspaper called Tages Anzeiger saying “Qatar was a mistake,” Reuters reported.

Qatar was awarded hosting rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup back in 2010.

As the Associated Press reported, Blatter was suspended by the organization before he and former FIFA official Michel Platini went on trail charged with fraud and other offenses and were acquitted in July.

A criminal court in Switzerland heard the case before a panel of three judges during 11 days in June.

The 86-year-old former FIFA official spoke to the Tamedia-owned newspaper in his first major interview since his acquittal with Platini.

Blatter spoke about the country Qatar saying, “It’s a country that’s too small.”

Football and the World Cup are too big for that,” he said.

“It was a bad choice. And I was responsible for that as president at the time,” said Blatter.

Blatter said that he had long voted for the United States to be the host, NPR reported.

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