Blatter Blasts England’s ‘Bad Losers’
December 9, 2010
FIFA’s controversial President Sepp Blatter has accused England of being ‘bad losers’ after failing in their bid to host the 2018 World Cup. After allegations of corruption in FIFA have been rife within the British media both before and since the vote, Blatter rejected all allegations of corruption saying that the governing body was “financially clean and clear”.
Much of the English bid team and media have reacted angrily to the decision made which saw them receive just two of a possible 22 votes from the FIFA executive committee in Zurich last Thursday. Acting chairman of the Football Association (FA), Roger Burden has since withdrawn his application for the post, stating that the role would involve liaising with FIFA and that he wanted “nothing more to do with them”.
Speaking to Weltwoche, a Swiss weekly magazine, Blatter stated: “To be honest, I was surprised by all the English complaining after the defeat. England, of all people, the motherland of fair play ideas.
“Now some of them are showing themselves to be bad losers. You can’t come afterwards and say so and so promised to vote for England. The results are known. The outcome came out clearly.”
“There is no systematic corruption in FIFA. That is nonsense,” he added. “We are financially clean and clear.”