By Andrew Warshaw
April 25 – Sepp Blatter may no longer be the centre of world attention and be banned from the sport he controlled for 18 years. But he has certainly not gone to ground and insists he is still in big demand.
Despite awaiting a judgement from the Court of Arbitration for Sport over his six-year suspension, Blatter says his phone “hasn’t stopped ringing” since being replaced as FIFA president.
“When I look at which (political) leaders are directly in contact (with me) … people like China, like Russia, like South Africa, like Japan … also European leaders,” Blatter told CNN in an interview to co-incide with the publication of his much-publicised picture-heavy first book since being deposed.
“I also have contact with presidents of associations in Africa. They still ask me now, they say ‘president, now you have to speak. We are all waiting. We are all waiting for your messages. Bring us messages now, president.'”
“I say: ‘Just a little while. I will come back.'”
As well as being suspended, Blatter has become embroiled in criminal investigation by the Swiss attorney general’s office over the process that saw Russia and Qatar being awarded host status for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively.
In the CNN interview, he continued to argue that the initial raids that saw several senior FIFA figures arrested at the Hotel Baur au Lac in Zurich last May, which set of the train of events that ultimately forced him to step down, was a “coup d’etat” led by American authorities assisted by the Swiss.
“I can understand that the Americans are not always happy with what’s happened somewhere in the world because they try to be the police of the world everywhere,” Blatter charged. “But I couldn’t understand that the Swiss authorities had agreed.”
Repeating previous assertions that had “never taken bribes”, Blatter admits that he confided in those who are alleged to have done exactly that. “This hurts because now I see that I trusted the wrong people.”
Blatter, now living back in his hometown of Visp, also told CNN he has quickly learned who his real friends are.
“When you are at the top of such an organisation like FIFA, you have not many friends. You have a lot of, let’s say, companions even accomplices. They want to be with you because it’s good to be with the number one. It’s good to be there. But when it comes to real friendship, then there are very, very few.”
Having reportedly earned over $3 million a year as FIFA boss, Blatter said he had not lived as extravagantly as some might imagine. “I have not spent the money, all the money I earned at FIFA. I have no boat. I have no private plane or something like that.”
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