“It was a wrong choice to choose the location.”
Opposition to proposal for Qatar even during his tenure
Former FIFA President Jeff Blatter (pictured) has claimed the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was a mistake.
In an interview with the Swiss media Taking Anzeiger on the 8th (Korea time), former chairman Blatter said, “It was a mistake and the wrong choice to choose Qatar as the host of the (World Cup). Qatar is the smallest country in size since the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland.” Qatar’s land area is 11,571 square kilometers, which is the size of the metropolitan area of Korea.
The Qatar World Cup ended in December 2010. Qatar, the United States, Korea, Japan and Australia entered the bidding battle, and after the fourth round of voting, Qatar defeated the United States, which received 8 vote with 14 votes. South Korea lost in the third vote. After Qatar was confirmed to host the World Cup, much controversy arose. Corruption in the state and human rights violations against migrant workers and sexual minorities are still reported.
Former FIFA president Blatter, who served as FIFA president from 1998 to 2015, said, “It was a bad choice (Qatar’s bid), and I am responsible for it as president at the time.” “Michel Platini (then president of the European Union). Football Federation) and his team “The four votes that had gone to Qatar, not the United States,” he said. However, the former president Blatter opposed Qatar at the time and supported the United States, and he opposed Platini, who was then the president of the European Football Federation (UEFA). The former president Blatter won the fifth term in the FIFA president election in May 2015, but resigned four days after being elected. Because he was identified as the body of the FIFA corruption scandal. Blatter was sentenced to an eight-year suspension by the FIFA Ethics Committee for paying 2 million Swiss francs (about 2.8 billion ‘to win) from FIFA money to Platini.
Correspondent Heo Jong-ho sportsher@munhwa.com
