Blatter: Infamy Infamy, the English have it Infamy

Any hope that his unopposed re-election to the FIFA Presidency would stem the flow of oddities emanating from the mouth of Sepp Blatter have been dashed.

Qatari Mohammad Bin Hammam challenged his authority and ended up being investigated for corruption and banned from football for life.

Now Blatter has a new Bête Noire. The English. FIFA is at war with Eurasia and has always been an ally of Eastasia.

The English Football Association were among the few who called for the presidential vote to be delayed once Bin Hammam dropped out in order for time to be found for another candidate to Blatter.

That obviously didn’t sit well with the man who hoped to be elected unopposed.

In the Brazilian newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo, Blatter rounded on his English critics.

He accused them of inventing charges against FIFA as acts of revenge for past slights including losing the battle for hosting rights to the 2018 World Cup.

“This animosity comes from England. See the timing of the accusations (against FIFA by Triesman) – it was precisely when they lost the right to host the 2018 World Cup. Three weeks before the election for president, the charges emerged.”

Lord Triesman was the former head of the England bid who made substantial allegations against FIFA and Blatter including seeking bribes in exchange for supporting England’s bid for the 2018 World Cup.

However according to Blatter, the animosity of the English has a far greater longevity.

“You know, I’ll tell the truth,” he continued. “All this is still a revenge for having lost the presidency of FIFA in 1974 to Joao Havelange. They still do not accept that they no longer control FIFA. Since they could not regain the presidency, they decided they would destroy it.”

In 1974 the Brazilian Havelange ousted then FIFA President, England’s Sir Stanley Rous.

Blatter blamed FIFA’s declining public image on a vendetta from the FA who, he claims, are seeking to destroy it.

Having ousted Bin Hammam himself for corruption, you might think Blatter recognised FIFA had a problem. However he found a combination of words that reenforced his point against the English while tieing them in with Hammam

“What I have to say about it is this – we have bad losers in FIFA,” he said.

Ominously, Blatter hinted at altering the electoral system for his successor to prevent the Europeans winning.

“Europe will do everything it can to win the presidency. I would say, to regain, because they do not consider me European. To prevent this war, we are going to create a formula for this election. We will have renewal, not revolution.”

Blatter was speaking in response to July comments from the President of the Brazilian Football Federation Ricardo Texeira who accused the English of attempting to undermine Brazil’s 2014 World Cup.

”The islanders [Britain] are the pirates of the world,” Teixeira told Revista Paui. ”It’s all rubbish… these English people are pissed off because they lost. Triesman had to explain in court how he spent $50 million, $15 million of which was Government funds, on England’s bid. It’s a ridiculous sum … we spent only $1 million and we won.”

He accused the British Government of collusion with the FA on a recent trip to FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich.

”The BBC is a state organisation. It is of interest to the British Government to annul Russia’s selection [for the 2018 World Cup]and to pull Brazil from its place because they think they can substitute us at the last minute. It’s all orchestrated.”

Astonishingly, he made public his intention to make the lives of the English ‘hell’ in 2014 when the World Cup is held in his native Brazil.

“In 2014, I’ll be able to get away with anything. The most slippery, unthinkable, Machiavellian things. Denying press credentials, barring access, changing game schedules. And you know what? Nothing’ll happen. You know why? Because in 2015 I’m out of here. Then it’ll all be over.”

Texeira is seen as a potential candidate to succeed Blatter. There’s a fair chance he won’t be getting England’s vote.