Sepp Blatter
Encyclopedia
Joseph S. Blatter commonly known as Sepp ("Giuseppe") Blatter, is a Swiss football administrator, who serves as the 8th and current President of FIFA
(Fédération Internationale de Football Association). He was elected on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange
. He was re-elected as President in 2002, 2007, and 2011. Despite winning four terms as President, Blatter has often been dogged by controversy and allegations of corruption
. In November 2011, he attracted criticism for stating that on-field racism could be satisfied by an end-of-match handshake, a claim for which he later offered a fulsome apology. Prior to his election as FIFA President, Blatter was a senior FIFA official for 23 years. In his earlier professional life, Blatter held a variety of senior management positions in several Swiss organizations.
, Canton
Valais
, Switzerland
. He studied in Sion, Switzerland
, before he received a degree in business
and economics
from the University of Lausanne
in 1959.
Blatter has had a long and varied career, including posts such as Head of Public Relations of the Valais
an Tourist Board in his native Switzerland, as well as General Secretary of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation. He was Director of Sports Timing and Relations of Longines
S.A., and was involved in the organization of the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games
. In the early 1970s, Blatter was elected president of the World Society of Friends of Suspenders, an organization which tried to stop women replacing suspender belts with pantyhose
.
(1975–1981), then General Secretary
(1981–1998) before his election as FIFA President in 1998. He was re-elected as head of FIFA in 2002, and was re-elected unopposed for another four years on 31 May 2007, even though only 66 of 207 FIFA members nominated him.
President Lennart Johansson
occurred amidst much controversy. Blatter's 2002 candidacy has been marked with rumours of financial irregularities and backroom dealings, culminating with direct accusations of bribery, by a third party, made in the British press by Farra Ado, vice-president of the Confederation of African Football
and president of the Somali Football Federation
, who claimed to have been offered $100,000 to vote for Blatter in 1998.
in 2004 when he suggested that women should "wear tighter shorts and low cut shirts... to create a more female aesthetic" and attract more male fans, remarks that were apparently ridiculed in the press.
, after a controversial second-round match between Portugal
and the Netherlands
, which saw referee
Valentin Ivanov
issue a record 16 yellow card
s and four red card
s, Blatter was said to have lambasted the officiating referee, and said that Ivanov should have given himself a yellow card for his poor performance as a referee. However, he later regretted his words and promised to officially apologise to Ivanov. This apology was never given, and the referee was removed from further officiating. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup final in Germany
, Blatter's absence during the prize-podium event was noted and criticized in international media. It was claimed that the reason Blatter did not attend was because he was upset that Italy
won instead of France
. Blatter later apologised and said the reason he had shunned the presentation ceremony was because he was afraid of being whistled.
employment law regarding the number of foreign players football clubs can field at any one time. His plans are to set a restriction to five foreign players and having six players from the said team's own nationality. Blatter believes this would help the countries' national sides by having more national players playing in their leagues. Blatter has often referred to the English Premier League as one of the major problems in football and uses it as an example, due to the influence of foreign players, coaches and owners in the top teams.
that Ireland
be the 33rd entrant of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
following a controversial hand ball incident
in their play-off qualification match. William Gallas
scored after an assist from Thierry Henry
, which was achieved via a hand ball near the Irish goal. The handball was not noticed by the referee and the late goal took France through to the finals at the expense of the Irish. Blatter conceded that the request was to be put before the FIFA Executive Committee
.
or video replays
intensified following the controversial Lampard
disallowed goal in the match between England
and Germany
on 27 June 2010. Two days later, Blatter stated that he deplored the "evident referee mistakes" in the England v Germany and Mexico
v Argentina
matches, and apologised to the English Football Association
and the Mexican Football Federation (the two organizations directly concerned by the referees' mistakes), acknowledging that Lampard had indeed scored against Germany and that Tévez's goal against Mexico had been scored from an offside position. He added: "It is obvious that after the experiences so far at this World Cup it would be a nonsense not to re-open the file on goal-line technology. [...] We will come out with a new model in November on how to improve high level referees. [...] I cannot disclose more of what we are doing but something has to be changed."
" to ensure Europe would receive the 2018 World Cup, such that if the non-European bids did not withdraw from 2018 "they will find themselves frozen out and not given any backing by the FIFA High Command, damaging their chances of being serious contenders for the second tournament."
Eleven bids were submitted in March 2009 covering 13 nations. Mexico
and Indonesia
withdrew. Five of the remaining nine bids -- South Korea
, Qatar
, Japan
, Australia
and the United States
-- were only for the 2022 World Cup, while all the others were bidding for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. However, since all of the bids for the 2018 World Cup were from European nations, and FIFA's rules dictate that countries belonging to confederations that hosted either of the two preceding tournaments are not eligible to host, the bids of England, Russia
, Netherlands
/Belgium
and Spain/Portugal
were forced to be for 2018 only.
Controversy came in the British press when Russia was awarded the 2018 event, with England receiving just two of their 'promised' votes; this controversy was dismissed by Blatter as the English showing themselves to be "bad losers". The awarding of the 2022 games to Qatar was also controversial; the illegality of homosexuality in the nation caused Blatter to joke that "I would say they [gay fans] should refrain from any sexual activities", which brought condemnation from retired professional basketball player John Amaechi
and gay rights groups.
candidate, running for a fourth consecutive term. The ChangeFIFA
organisation, on 29 March 2011, endorsed former Chilean defender and for 3 years running South American Footballer of the Year
Elias Figueroa
as candidate for the presidency, urging national federations to nominate him, but, subsequently, Figueroa decided not to accept the nomination, stating that "in such a short period of time" he could not develop a case "worthy of the magnitude and importance of such a distinguished job"
The vote took place at the 61st FIFA Congress
in Zurich. The only other candidate, Mohammed bin Hammam
of Qatar
, withdrew from the presidential race on the 28th May, just before the vote. Bin Hammam had supported Blatter's 1998 and 2002 presidential campaigns, but admitted that he had fallen out with Blatter over issues within the FIFA Executive Committee
. The FIFA ethics committee that investigated bribery
claims against Bin Hammam and CONCACAF
head Jack Warner announced that Blatter will not face an investigation into claims that he knew of the bribery and did nothing about it, due to a lack of evidence.
Blatter criticised the International Olympic Committee
, stating FIFA manage their finances "like a housewife", after the IOC announced it would look into allegations of corruption against Issa Hayatou
, president of the Confederation of African Football
.
There being no other nominations, Sepp Blatter ran unopposed in the 2011 FIFA elections.
On 1 June, Blatter was re-elected president for a fourth term, with 186 of the 203 votes in his favour. In his campaign, Blatter had stipulated that, if re-elected in 2011, he would not run again for president.
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
(Fédération Internationale de Football Association). He was elected on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange
João Havelange
Jean-Marie Faustin Goedefroid de Havelange , more commonly known as João Havelange , was the 7th President of FIFA, serving from 1974 to 1998. He received the title of Honorary President when leaving office. He succeeded Sir Stanley Rous and was succeeded by Joseph Blatter...
. He was re-elected as President in 2002, 2007, and 2011. Despite winning four terms as President, Blatter has often been dogged by controversy and allegations of corruption
Corruption
Corruption usually refers to spiritual or moral impurity.Corruption may also refer to:* Corruption , an American crime film* Corruption , a British horror film...
. In November 2011, he attracted criticism for stating that on-field racism could be satisfied by an end-of-match handshake, a claim for which he later offered a fulsome apology. Prior to his election as FIFA President, Blatter was a senior FIFA official for 23 years. In his earlier professional life, Blatter held a variety of senior management positions in several Swiss organizations.
Early life and career
Blatter was born in VispVisp
Visp is the capital of the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.-Geography:Visp has an area, , of . Of this area, 17.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 59.7% is forested...
, Canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
Valais
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. He studied in Sion, Switzerland
Sion, Switzerland
Sion is the capital of the Swiss canton of Valais. it had a population of .Landmarks include the Basilique de Valère and Château de Tourbillon. Sion has an airfield for civilian and military use, which, because of its location in a valley, causes a reasonable amount of noise pollution. FC Sion...
, before he received a degree in business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
and economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
from the University of Lausanne
University of Lausanne
The University of Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of theology, before being made a university in 1890. Today about 12,000 students and 2200 researchers study and work at the university...
in 1959.
Blatter has had a long and varied career, including posts such as Head of Public Relations of the Valais
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
an Tourist Board in his native Switzerland, as well as General Secretary of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation. He was Director of Sports Timing and Relations of Longines
Longines
Longines is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland. The company was originally founded by Auguste Agassiz in 1832 and it currently holds the oldest registered logo for a watch company . Longines is currently owned by the Swatch Group.Longines is known for its 'Aviators' watches...
S.A., and was involved in the organization of the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. In the early 1970s, Blatter was elected president of the World Society of Friends of Suspenders, an organization which tried to stop women replacing suspender belts with pantyhose
Pantyhose
Pantyhose are sheer, close-fitting legwear, covering the wearer's body from the waist to the feet. Mostly considered to be a woman's and girl's garment, pantyhose appeared in the 1960s, and they provided a convenient alternative to stockings...
.
FIFA
Since 1975 Blatter has been working at FIFA, first as Technical DirectorTechnical director
The Technical Director or Technical Manager is usually a senior technical person within a software company, film studio, theatrical company or television studio...
(1975–1981), then General Secretary
General Secretary
The office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...
(1981–1998) before his election as FIFA President in 1998. He was re-elected as head of FIFA in 2002, and was re-elected unopposed for another four years on 31 May 2007, even though only 66 of 207 FIFA members nominated him.
1998 election
Sepp Blatter's 1998 election to the presidency of FIFA over UEFAUEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
President Lennart Johansson
Lennart Johansson
Lennart Johansson was the president of UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations from 1990 until 2007. Johansson is probably most famous for starting the UEFA Champions League and for bringing the UEFA European Football Championship to his native Sweden.He started as a bandy leader in AIK...
occurred amidst much controversy. Blatter's 2002 candidacy has been marked with rumours of financial irregularities and backroom dealings, culminating with direct accusations of bribery, by a third party, made in the British press by Farra Ado, vice-president of the Confederation of African Football
Confederation of African Football
The Confederation of African Football is the administrative and controlling body for African association football.CAF represents the national football associations of Africa, runs continental, national, and club competitions, and controls the prize money, regulations and media rights to those...
and president of the Somali Football Federation
Somali Football Federation
The Somali Football Federation was founded in 1960. In that same year, the SFF became a FIFA member and has been affiliated with the organization ever since. In 1975, it joined the Confederation of African Football , an administrative body it is still likewise a member of. It is also a part of the...
, who claimed to have been offered $100,000 to vote for Blatter in 1998.
Allegations of financial mismanagement
Amidst internal divisions, FIFA's secretary-general Blatter's deputy and former protégé Michel Zen-Ruffinen drew up a 30-page dossier outlining allegations of financial mismanagement within the organisation. The dossier alleged that the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner ISL had led to losses of up to $100m under Blatter's management. The allegations were backed by Johansson, and the dossier was handed to the Swiss authorities, but they cleared Blatter of any wrong doing and FIFA had to pay all the costs. An internal investigation within FIFA was halted by Blatter because members of it broke confidentiality agreements. This questionable behaviour led him to remove Zen-Ruffinen from office immediately before the FIFA World Cup 2002.Women's football
Blatter incurred criticism from female footballersWomen's football (soccer)
Women's association football has been played for many decades, but was associated with charity games and physical exercise in the past before the breakthrough of organized women's association football came in the 1970s. Before the 1970s, football was basically seen as a men's game...
in 2004 when he suggested that women should "wear tighter shorts and low cut shirts... to create a more female aesthetic" and attract more male fans, remarks that were apparently ridiculed in the press.
Criticises referee, skips ceremony
In the 2006 FIFA World Cup2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
, after a controversial second-round match between Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, which saw referee
Referee
A referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport...
Valentin Ivanov
Valentin Valentinovich Ivanov
Valentin Valentinovich Ivanov is a Russian international football referee and a former player. The son of two Olympic champions of 1956, Valentin Ivanov and Lidiya Ivanova, he lives in Moscow where he works as a teacher....
issue a record 16 yellow card
Yellow card
Yellow card may refer to:* A yellow penalty card shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas...
s and four red card
Red card
Red card may refer to:* A penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction* A suit of hearts or diamonds* Red Card , 1976 release by Streetwalkers* RedCard 20-03, 2002 extreme football video game...
s, Blatter was said to have lambasted the officiating referee, and said that Ivanov should have given himself a yellow card for his poor performance as a referee. However, he later regretted his words and promised to officially apologise to Ivanov. This apology was never given, and the referee was removed from further officiating. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup final in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Blatter's absence during the prize-podium event was noted and criticized in international media. It was claimed that the reason Blatter did not attend was because he was upset that Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
won instead of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Blatter later apologised and said the reason he had shunned the presentation ceremony was because he was afraid of being whistled.
Foreign 'over-representation' on club teams
Blatter appeared to incur much criticism during 2007 and 2008 for his apparent persistence in attempting to change European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
employment law regarding the number of foreign players football clubs can field at any one time. His plans are to set a restriction to five foreign players and having six players from the said team's own nationality. Blatter believes this would help the countries' national sides by having more national players playing in their leagues. Blatter has often referred to the English Premier League as one of the major problems in football and uses it as an example, due to the influence of foreign players, coaches and owners in the top teams.
Hand ball protest by Irish Association
In December 2009 Blatter rejected a request by the Football Association of IrelandFootball Association of Ireland
The Football Association of Ireland is the governing body for the sport of association football in the Republic of Ireland. It should not to be confused with the Irish Football Association , which is the organising body for the sport in Northern Ireland.For the full history, statistics and records...
that Ireland
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
be the 33rd entrant of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
following a controversial hand ball incident
France vs Republic of Ireland 2010 FIFA World Cup play-off
The France vs Republic of Ireland 2010 FIFA World Cup play-off, dubbed by the media as the Hand of Frog affair, was a controversial association football game played on 18 November 2009 in the Stade de France outside Paris between the national teams of France and the Republic of Ireland...
in their play-off qualification match. William Gallas
William Gallas
William Eric Gallas is a French footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur.Gallas began his career in France, before being signed by English club Chelsea in 2001. He transferred to rivals Arsenal as part of an exchange deal in 2006...
scored after an assist from Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...
, which was achieved via a hand ball near the Irish goal. The handball was not noticed by the referee and the late goal took France through to the finals at the expense of the Irish. Blatter conceded that the request was to be put before the FIFA Executive Committee
FIFA Executive Committee
FIFA Executive Committee is an institution of FIFA . It is the main decision-making body of the organization in the intervals of Congress...
.
Dismisses technological assistance
The criticism attracted by Blatter's refusal to allow goal-line technologyGoal-line technology
In association football, goal-line technology is a proposed technology currently in testing stages, which determines when the ball has completely crossed goal line, assisting the referee in calling a goal or not. So far FIFA, footballs governing body, has resisted goal-line technology as well as...
or video replays
Instant replay
Instant replay is the replaying of video footage of an event or incident very soon after it has occurred. In television broadcasting of sports events, instant replay is often used during live broadcast, to show a passage of play which was important or remarkable, or which was unclear on first...
intensified following the controversial Lampard
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...
disallowed goal in the match between England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
and Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
on 27 June 2010. Two days later, Blatter stated that he deplored the "evident referee mistakes" in the England v Germany and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
v Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
matches, and apologised to the English Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
and the Mexican Football Federation (the two organizations directly concerned by the referees' mistakes), acknowledging that Lampard had indeed scored against Germany and that Tévez's goal against Mexico had been scored from an offside position. He added: "It is obvious that after the experiences so far at this World Cup it would be a nonsense not to re-open the file on goal-line technology. [...] We will come out with a new model in November on how to improve high level referees. [...] I cannot disclose more of what we are doing but something has to be changed."
World Cup's chosen sites
It was reported that Blatter had "cut an unofficial deal with UEFA head Michel PlatiniMichel Platini
Michel François Platini is a former French football player, manager and current president of UEFA. Platini was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top goalscorer and voted the best player. He participated in the 1978, 1982...
" to ensure Europe would receive the 2018 World Cup, such that if the non-European bids did not withdraw from 2018 "they will find themselves frozen out and not given any backing by the FIFA High Command, damaging their chances of being serious contenders for the second tournament."
Eleven bids were submitted in March 2009 covering 13 nations. Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
withdrew. Five of the remaining nine bids -- South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-- were only for the 2022 World Cup, while all the others were bidding for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. However, since all of the bids for the 2018 World Cup were from European nations, and FIFA's rules dictate that countries belonging to confederations that hosted either of the two preceding tournaments are not eligible to host, the bids of England, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
/Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and Spain/Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
were forced to be for 2018 only.
Controversy came in the British press when Russia was awarded the 2018 event, with England receiving just two of their 'promised' votes; this controversy was dismissed by Blatter as the English showing themselves to be "bad losers". The awarding of the 2022 games to Qatar was also controversial; the illegality of homosexuality in the nation caused Blatter to joke that "I would say they [gay fans] should refrain from any sexual activities", which brought condemnation from retired professional basketball player John Amaechi
John Amaechi
John Uzoma Ekwugha Amaechi OBE is a retired American-born British basketball player who currently works as a psychologist, educator and political activist in Europe and the United States....
and gay rights groups.
2011 FIFA presidential election
In 2011, elections were scheduled for the FIFA presidency, in which Blatter was again the incumbentIncumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
candidate, running for a fourth consecutive term. The ChangeFIFA
ChangeFIFA
ChangeFIFA is a campaign organisation, established in 2010 with the stated aim of making FIFA, the ruling body of world soccer, more "fair and accountable".-Creation:...
organisation, on 29 March 2011, endorsed former Chilean defender and for 3 years running South American Footballer of the Year
South American Footballer of the Year
The South American Footballer of the Year is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in South America over the previous calendar year. The award was conceived by Venezuelan newspaper El Mundo, whom awarded it from 1971 to 1985. Uruguayan newspaper El País took over...
Elias Figueroa
Elías Figueroa
Elías Ricardo Figueroa Brander is a former football player from Chile. He is considered the best Chilean footballer of all time, as well as one of the greatest defenders ever to play the game....
as candidate for the presidency, urging national federations to nominate him, but, subsequently, Figueroa decided not to accept the nomination, stating that "in such a short period of time" he could not develop a case "worthy of the magnitude and importance of such a distinguished job"
The vote took place at the 61st FIFA Congress
61st FIFA Congress
The 61st FIFA Congress was held between 31 May and 1 June 2011 at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland. FIFA is the governing body of world association football, and the congress is the annual meeting of FIFA's supreme legislative body. This is the eighth congress to be held in Zurich, and the...
in Zurich. The only other candidate, Mohammed bin Hammam
Mohammed Bin Hammam
Mohamed bin Hammam is a Qatari who was formerly a football administrator and president of the Asian Football Confederation from 1 August 2002 to 14 June 2011, and a member of FIFA's 24-man executive committee from 1996 to 2011 for more than 15 years...
of Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, withdrew from the presidential race on the 28th May, just before the vote. Bin Hammam had supported Blatter's 1998 and 2002 presidential campaigns, but admitted that he had fallen out with Blatter over issues within the FIFA Executive Committee
FIFA Executive Committee
FIFA Executive Committee is an institution of FIFA . It is the main decision-making body of the organization in the intervals of Congress...
. The FIFA ethics committee that investigated bribery
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
claims against Bin Hammam and CONCACAF
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football is the continental governing body for association football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean...
head Jack Warner announced that Blatter will not face an investigation into claims that he knew of the bribery and did nothing about it, due to a lack of evidence.
Blatter criticised the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
, stating FIFA manage their finances "like a housewife", after the IOC announced it would look into allegations of corruption against Issa Hayatou
Issa Hayatou
Issa Hayatou is the president of the Confederation of African Football , named in 1987. In 2002, he ran for president of FIFA but was defeated by current president Sepp Blatter...
, president of the Confederation of African Football
Confederation of African Football
The Confederation of African Football is the administrative and controlling body for African association football.CAF represents the national football associations of Africa, runs continental, national, and club competitions, and controls the prize money, regulations and media rights to those...
.
There being no other nominations, Sepp Blatter ran unopposed in the 2011 FIFA elections.
On 1 June, Blatter was re-elected president for a fourth term, with 186 of the 203 votes in his favour. In his campaign, Blatter had stipulated that, if re-elected in 2011, he would not run again for president.
Changes to the game made under Blatter
- The silver goal replaced the golden goalGolden goalThe golden goal is a method used in association football, field hockey, ice hockey and korfball to decide the winner of games in elimination matches which end in a draw after the end of regulation time. It is a type of sudden death. Golden goal rules allow the team that scores the first goal during...
rule in extra time of play-off matches. Under the golden goal rule, the match ends immediately if one side scores in extra time. The silver goal rule states that the match will end at the half-time period in extra time if one team is leading – otherwise the match will continue until the end of the extra time period. Some fans believe that this rule change makes the game less exciting, while others felt that the game is more fair as a result. The new rule was first applied in the Euro 2004 competition, but it has since been discontinued along with golden goal. All competitions have now reverted to the traditional extra time rules, i.e. they must play the full amount of extra time, no matter what the score is. - Since the 2002 World Cup2002 FIFA World CupThe 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
, the current World Cup champion no longer automatically qualifies for the next World Cup finals, as was the case for the champions of all 16 previous World Cups. - National associations must now enforce immediate suspensions of all players sent offMisconduct (football)Misconduct in association football is any conduct by a player that is deemed by the referee to warrant a disciplinary sanction in accordance with Law 12 of the Laws of the Game. Misconduct may occur at any time, including when the ball is out of play, during half-time and before and after the...
during a game, even if television replays offer compelling evidence of a player's innocence. In particular, Blatter insists that a referee's judgement must be seen as final and that mistakes are part of the game. The FAThe Football AssociationThe Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
, however, has refused to follow this directive, and allows appeals against straight red cardsMisconduct (football)Misconduct in association football is any conduct by a player that is deemed by the referee to warrant a disciplinary sanction in accordance with Law 12 of the Laws of the Game. Misconduct may occur at any time, including when the ball is out of play, during half-time and before and after the...
(though not those resulting from two yellowsMisconduct (football)Misconduct in association football is any conduct by a player that is deemed by the referee to warrant a disciplinary sanction in accordance with Law 12 of the Laws of the Game. Misconduct may occur at any time, including when the ball is out of play, during half-time and before and after the...
). - Under Blatter, starting in 2004, the game implemented the bookingMisconduct (football)Misconduct in association football is any conduct by a player that is deemed by the referee to warrant a disciplinary sanction in accordance with Law 12 of the Laws of the Game. Misconduct may occur at any time, including when the ball is out of play, during half-time and before and after the...
of players who remove their shirts after scoring a goal, as well as those who are guilty of 'over-zealous celebrations'. The rationale for this rule change is that football is a global sport, and thus the sensibilities of conservative nations and spectators must be respected. - In 2007, Blatter decided that no football matches will be played above 2500 metres (8200 ft) above sea level. This number was revised to 3000 metres (9840 feet) on 26 June 2007. The move had consequences for the Bolivia national football teamBolivia national football teamThe Bolivia national football team is the national team of Bolivia and is controlled by the Federación Boliviana de Fútbol. After playing in the 1930 and 1950 World Cups, they qualified just once—in 1994...
, whose stadium (Estadio Hernando SilesEstadio Hernando SilesEstadio Hernando Siles is a sports stadium in La Paz, Bolivia. It is the country's largest sports complex with a capacity of 42,000 seated spectators and is named after Hernando Siles Reyes, the 31st President of Bolivia...
) is located more than 3000 metres above sea level. The next day, FIFA also announced a special exemption for the Estadio Hernando Siles, allowing the stadium to continue holding World Cup qualifying matches.
Philosophy
Blatter has been involved in a wide range of humanitarian projects. Since his election as FIFA president in 1998, he has participated in several campaigns aiming to increase public awareness of children's rights and to bring football to less privileged regions of the world, ensuring its contribution to social advancement. Blatter considers football to provide a "basic education, character formation and fighting spirit, allied with respect and discipline", and which potentially allows better understanding among the peoples of the world. "Football for all, all for football" – is said to be his motto.Honours
Sepp Blatter has received the following awards:- Recipient of the 'Global Award for Peace' awarded by the International Amateur Athletic Association.
- Liberian Humane Order of African RedemptionLiberian Humane Order of African RedemptionLiberian Humane Order of African Redemption was founded on January 13, 1879 during the presidency of Anthony W. Gardiner. It is awarded for humanitarian work in Liberia, for acts supporting and assisting the Liberian nation and to individuals who have played a prominent role in the emancipation of...
- Hononary title of 'Datuk Seri' from the Sultan of Pahang and former President of Asian Football ConfederationAsian Football ConfederationThe Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
, Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang.