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by Kadeem Simmonds
Sepp Blatter once again tried in vain to seperate sport and politics on Monday when he said there is no way Russia would be stripped of the 2018 World Cup.
With Russia’s problems with racist fans and the country’s anti-gay laws, there have been countless calls for another country to be awarded the next World Cup.
In a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Blatter said that he was adamant that the football tournament will be a success.
“Some people are wanting the World Cup to be taken away from Russia but we will give one answer to this — we are involved in football and we will not allow politics to get in the way,” Blatter said.
“If a few politicians are not particularly happy that we are hosting the World Cup in Russia, then I always tell them: ‘Well then, stay at home.’
“Everything is going to plan and nothing will get in the way of Russia hosting the best ever World Cup. The economic situation is not the best but I know it will get better.
“The main thing is that the people of Russia are organising this tournament. The people want this championship to go ahead and I personally feel this.”
Elsewhere, European lawmakers are likely to urge Fifa to vote again on awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar tomorrow.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe says it will discuss the issue, with the debate following a report to the 47-nation Council of Europe in January raising concerns about “illegal payments” to help Qatarsecure hosting rights.
The report relied on the Sunday Times’s uncovering of emails sent by former Fifa official Mohamed bin Hammam.
The newspaper reported last June that Bin Hammam’s cash payments totaling $5 million (£3.3m) to football officials worldwide helped build support for Qatar’s bid.
While the debate will in no way influence Fifa’s decision it will only increase calls for there to be another vote on both tournaments, due to alleged corruption in the voting process.
US lawyer Michael Garcia compiled a 430-page report into the 2018 and 2022 bidding process but resigned afterFifa officials published a selective summary of his findings.
