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FiFA president Sepp Blatter stands on the verge of another four years as the leader of world football's governing body, despite the organisation appearing to be teetering on the brink of outright revolt.

Following an extraordinary press conference in Zurich on Monday, Goal.com takes a sideways look at some of Blatter's most incredible statements during his reign at the top of football's political tree…

"The source of wealth is from individuals with little or no history of interest in the game, who have happened upon football as a means of serving some hidden agenda."
Sepp Blatter here talking about about himself and his FIFA pals greedy businessmen taking over football clubs to make a fast buck.
"Unfortunately there are other pressing and unpleasant issues that also must be dealt with: corruption, racism, betting and doping."
Zero out of four isn't that bad, I suppose.
"Because I love football and I love the footballers."
You just hate the fans, the ordinary people who aren't fortunate enough to have the money to go to Fifa tournaments, journalists asking fair questions, etc, etc.

"FIFA cannot sit by and see greed rule the football world. Nor shall we."
No, FIFA will not stand by, it will get actively involved to ensure its senior members make a killing too.
"If there is no winner at the end of 90 minutes of play, we would proceed directly to penalty kicks."
He obviously never watched the MLS, as he thinks there should be no drawn games at World Cups. 
"It can also be dangerous. It can be like to hang somebody."
On football's biggest issue: the snood.
"I do not think, and the FIFA Congress are of the same view, that you can afford to stop the game, and with the camera system HawkEye showed us, there is a delay in announcing the decision and the situation can change. The chip in the ball technology, which Adidas and Kairos trialled, was not accurate enough and the problem is that you have to put the chips in millions of balls made by lots of different companies."
Blatter bleats on about not using simple goalline technology in 2009 because it'd cost a lot of money. Hmm. Fifa has lots of money, so do football teams, so do ball manufacturers… where is the problem?
"As soon as we have a safe, fast and uncomplicated goal indicator, we will use it."
Sepp changes his tune on technology a year later. Don't know if you know, mate, but it's been around in cricket and tennis for plenty of years and works just fine.

Rather embarrassing associating myself with this… | … thinks the guy in the lion suit
"Let the women play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball. They could, for example, have tighter shorts."

Apparently Andy Gray and Richard Keys were appalled by this outburst.

"Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so, and they already have some different rules to men - such as playing with a lighter ball."
For the head of world football, you'd think he'd know that the women's game is played with the same ball as the men's.

"I think in football, there's too much modern slavery, in transferring players or buying players here and there, and putting them somewhere."
Finished with being sexist, Sepp makes a ridiculous and lazily offensive analogy when asked about the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer saga, because, of course, a £100,000-a-week footballer really is just like a slave.
"The host of the 2018 World Cup is… Russia!"

And then everyone acted surprised.
"The host of the 2022 World Cup is… Qatar!"
But remember, they didn't buy the World Cup. Even if the general secretary of FIFA said they did. Because he didn't mean it like that, obviously.
"I'd say they [gay fans] should refrain from any sexual activities."
Ah good, back to offending people. Sepp laughs at a legitimate question about the World Cup being staged in a country where homosexuality is illegal.
"Handling the past will be presented to the Congress. We have to make sure that immediately after the election that we rebuild the image of Fifa."
Or you could rebuild the image of FIFA before and during the election. Just a thought.

"This committee will strengthen our credibility and give us a new image in terms of transparency. I will take care of it personally, to ensure there is no corruption at FIFA."
Sepp will investigate Sepp to ensure that Sepp is doing things by the book. Seems fair.
"I received once an envelope, when I was secretary general and in this envelope there was an amount of money. I couldn’t refuse because he put it in my pocket. I came home here to Fifa and gave it to the finance director and he put this money on the account of the Swiss Bank Corporation…. Then it was specifically known that please don’t try to give money to somebody who’s in the FIFA."
Sepp proudly boasts that he turned down a bribe, but receives full marks for incompetence by doing nothing about the man who tried to buy him off.
"Crisis? What is a crisis? If one of you can describe to me what a crisis is, I can answer."
It'd be two senior members of FIFA, one of them your best mate for years, being charged with bribing officials and it happening on your watch.

I've lost my dictionary! | Blatter fumes as he struggles to understand what 'crisis' means
"We are not in crisis, just some difficulties. The difficulties will be solved, and solved inside our family."
There was a load creaking noise as he said that: it was the sound of a giant carpet being lifted up so the whole corruption saga could be swept underneath it.
"…"
For a change, Sepp said nothing after being asked to respond to critics who say he should step down.
"Listen. I will not go into discussions with people that like to create problems."
Blatter seems to think that it's the journalists' fault that FIFA is in turmoil, rather than the in-fighting, the blatant corruption and the sham of an election set to take place on Wednesday.

Football, eh, isn't it great?

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* Rosell accuses bitter rivals of anti-sporting behaviour

* Real rejects comments, says will work for good relations (adds Real Madrid response)

MADRID, June 16 (Reuters) - A war of words between Barcelona and Real Madrid intensified on Thursday when Barca president Sandro Rosell accused the Catalan club’s bitter rivals of anti-sporting behaviour and slammed Real coach Jose Mourinho.

Bad blood boiled up between the Spanish giants around four clashes in three competitions in 18 days late last season and Rosell used his end-of-campaign news conference to read out a strongly-worded statement condemning Real.

“We believe that this season Real Madrid has gone beyond all the limits of the necessary sporting rivalry, making accusations against our club that have no foundation,” Rosell said.

“The rivalry will continue next season but we will not allow the limits of sporting behaviour to be exceeded again.

“Football deserves clean competition and FC Barcelona will do everything to preserve that.

“If necessary, we will take legal action and take the case to the relevant sporting tribunals.”

Real responded with a statement in which they said they regretted Rosell’s “unfortunate comments”.

The club said his statement was motivated by “pressure the board of directors has been placed under by part of a certain and nearby media environment, which has called for an aggressive attitude towards our club”.

“For the good of football, Real Madrid CF will continue working to maintain the best possible relations with FC Barcelona, as it typically does with all clubs in Europe and the world,” the statement added (www.realmadrid.com).

CHEATING, ABUSE

European champions Barca eliminated Real from the Champions League and beat the Madrid club into second place in La Liga for a third successive season. Real claimed a dramatic King’s Cup final win over Barca to win their only silverware of the campaign.

The four matches were marred by play-acting, brawling and allegations of cheating and racist abuse.

After the Champions League semi-final first leg, Mourinho said Barca enjoyed favourable treatment from referees and Real later filed a complaint with UEFA—which was rejected — accusing Barca players of diving and alleging midfielder Sergio Busquets had called defender Marcelo a monkey.

Barca filed their own complaint with UEFA over Mourinho’s comments and the Portuguese was suspended for five matches and fined 50,000 euros ($70,700).

He faces an appeals hearing on July 29 and has said he will use every means at his disposal to fight the sanction.

“The news conference that the Real Madrid coach gave after the Champions League semi-final first leg at the Bernabeu shamed anyone who considers themselves an athlete,” Rosell said.

Barca were also outraged by a report on Spanish radio station Cadena Cope, which cited an unidentified Real official as its source, that suggested Barca’s players and medical staff were engaged in illegal doping.

“I can assure you that if someone, in the name of FC Barcelona, had made an accusation of this kind we would have acted with firmness, denying it immediately and taking those responsible to court,” Rosell said.

“We would have appreciated a similar response from Real Madrid but unfortunately this was not the case.”

Real said Rosell’s remarks were “serious and false insinuations” and insisted the Cadena Cope report had nothing to do with the club.

“Reports which, as everyone knows, our club denied at the time, immediately and categorically, in the place of their origin,” the club’s statement said.

GREAT BENEFICIARY

Rosell said it was now up to Real president Florentino Perez to mend relations between the clubs.

“A few days ago the president of Real Madrid said he would not stop until the club had won a 10th European Cup,” he said.

“We hope that they attempt this on the pitch, in a sporting manner and rediscovering a way of behaving that I believe many Madrid fans want.

“The president of Real Madrid has a chance to reconstitute our relations, on and off the pitch.

“Football, which usually gives you back what you put in, will be the great beneficiary.”

(Reporting by Iain Rogers, editing by Ed Osmond; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Labels: Barca, president, Reuters, turns

* Blatter opens FIFA Congress

* Swiss president calls for reform

(Adds quotes from Calmy-Rey, Swiss president)

By Mike Collett

ZURICH, May 31 (Reuters) - FIFA needs to reform and set about doing so quickly, Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey warned in a pointed address to delegates at the opening ceremony of the world soccer body’s 61st Congress on Tuesday.

After opening addresses from beleaguered FIFA president Sepp Blatter and Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, Calmy-Rey warned FIFA to waste no time in getting its house in order.

She hoped also that it would not be long before women were seen among the members of the 24-man executive committee.

FIFA has been rocked by a series of scandals recently and Calmy-Rey urged the governing body to “take seriously the many criticisms voiced about corruption and a lack of transparency.

“It is important you examine them swiftly and take the necessary measures to reform your governance. It is of the utmost importance because your organisation should be an example not only to young people but to the world at large.

“What is important is to restore full confidence in the organisation; let not money spoil your ideals,” she added.

“This is not the time for a catenaccio defence but time for a courageous offensive on the pitch of transparency to reclaim integrity, respect, tolerance and team spirit.

“FIFA is important to Switzerland so I wish you the energy necessary to overcome the many challenges which face you.”

SHAKY PYRAMID

Blatter had earlier opened the Congress, warning of the dangers the governing body is facing.

Welcoming FIFA’s 208 delegates at a ceremony featuring jugglers, folk dancers and singer Grace Jones, Blatter said he would speak in more detail about the problems facing FIFA before the business part of the Congress starts on Wednesday.

However, he warned: “I thought we were living in a world of fair play, respect and discipline but I must unfortunately say this is no longer the case because our pyramid, the famous FIFA pyramid, is suddenly unsure on its basis and there is danger.”

Two Confederation presidents, Mohamed Bin Hammam of Asia and Jack Warner of CONCACAF, have been banned from the Congress after being suspended from all football related activity on bribery allegations.

Blatter continued: “Tomorrow, dear friends, when I open the Congress agenda, I will speak of the danger lurking and I will tell you how we can fight this threat of danger, how our sport can play its role in bringing people together in the future.

“Tonight we want to meet in a festive atmosphere, but to keep the fascination of our sport we must respect it, it’s up to all of us. It’s our game, all of us have a duty to protect this sport and this is what we want to do. I am certain we will achieve this.”

Blatter is expected to be re-elected by acclamation for a fourth term on Wednesday, although a number of associations including England and Scotland could call for the election to be postponed in the light of the corruption claims.

Rogge recalled the IOC’s own cash-for votes crisis over the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games.

Appearing to lend support to Blatter, who sits on the IOC as FIFA president, he told delegates: “FIFA is now facing allegations and controversy. “Thirteen years ago we had to face the same ordeal regarding the Salt Lake City Games. The IOC however ultimately emerged a stronger organisation and from within.

“I will definitely not point the finger, nor be lecturing, but I am sure that FIFA can emerge stronger and from within.”

(Editing by Alan Baldwin, To comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Labels: house, ORDER, president, Reuters, Swiss, urges

Labels: president, Reuters, Ukraine