February 2 – Sepp Blatter has not always talked favourably about his successor but has surprisingly come out in partial support of Gianni Infantino’s decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams.
Blatter, who stepped down in the summer of 2015, one week after winning a fifth term, amid FIFA’s corruption scandal, has in the past accused Infantino of a lack of respect.
But in an interview with Newsweek, Blatter, currently banned for six years over that infamous “disloyal payment” made to former UEFA president Michel Platini in 1998 but which didn’t come to light until 13 years later, says World Cup expansion may not be a bad thing.
“ I think he [Infantino] now has many footballers at his side as consultants and they will now try to make the game more attractive,” Blatter says. “Let us see if this can be the case. At least he went to a 48-team World Cup without any opposition. Everybody, all media said it was not possible. He did it, and this is a success for him in his dealing with football matters.
“Now, to say if it is good or not good, the future will show. There are still many years to go, they will prove whether it is good or not. In my time we came from 16 to 24 and then to 32 [teams]. The world is developing.”
Despite previous friction between the pair, Blatter says there is no longer an issue even though, he says, there has been no contact for almost a year.
“I have no problems with him [Infantino],” Blatter says. “We have had contact in the first month of his election, in March last year. We had personal contact in my house. Since then no more contact. He is the president, he is doing his job. I have once made a remark that he was not so very respectful. But it is his attitude, he started to have contact with me and then stopped. So what? Life is going on with him and life is going on with me.”
However Blatter is strongly opposed to proposals put forward last month by FIFA’s technical director Marco van Basten to revolutionise the way the game is played, not least scrapping the offside rule.
“If you take away the offside of football then you take away the essence of this game [football],” said Blatter.
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