Eye of the storm: Sepp Blatter embraces FIFA member
Tokyo Sexwale
Sepp Blatter was facing renewed calls for
his resignation on Wednesday night after dismissing on-pitch racism
- just as the FA charged Luis Suarez over allegations he racially
abused Patrice Evra.
In a statement the FA said Liverpool's Suarez had
been charged for allegedly making 'a reference to the ethnic origin
and/or colour and/or race of Patrice Evra'.
At the same time, England captain John Terry
remains the subject of an FA inquiry and a formal Metropolitan
Police investigation into claims that he racially abused Anton
Ferdinand at Loftus Road last month.
But when FIFA president Blatter was asked for his
view on the issue in a series of interviews, he gave an astonishing
response.
Under fire: Suarez has strenuously denied the
claims
Asked directly by a CNN reporter if
racism exists on the pitch, Blatter denied it and said such
incidents should simply be settled by a handshake at the end of the
match.
'I would deny it,' he said. 'There is no racism,
there is maybe one of the players towards another, he has a word or
a gesture which is not the correct one, but also the one who is
affected by that, he should say that this is a game.
'We are in a game, and at the end of the game, we
shake hands, and this can happen. On the field of play sometimes
you say something that is not very correct, but then at the end of
the game you have the next game where you can behave
better.'
To a reporter from Al-Jazeera he simply
compounded the situation.
'During a match you may say something to somebody
who is not exactly looking like you,' he said. 'But at the end...
it's forgotten.'
Blatter first tried to repair the damage on
his official Twitter page, without much success.
After that FIFA released an official statement on
their website. Blatter, alongside a picture of him embracing
a black man, claimed his comments had been
'misunderstood'.
His statement said: 'The statement said: 'I would
like to make it very clear, I am committed to the fight against
racism and any type of discrimination in football and in
society.
'I have been personally leading this battle
against racism in football, which FIFA has been fighting against
throughout the past years through campaigns in all of our
competitions such as the 'Say no to racism' campaign.
'I also know that racism unfortunately continues
to exist in football, and I have never denied this. I know that it
is a big problem in society, and that it also affects
sport.
'I strongly believe that we should continue to
fight all together against racism on and off the field of play, in
order to eradicate this plague.
'My comments have been misunderstood. What I
wanted to express is that, as football players, during a match, you
have 'battles' with your opponents, and sometimes things are done
which are wrong. But, normally, at the end of the match, you
apologise to your opponent if you had a confrontation during the
match, you shake hands, and when the game is over, it is
over.
'Anyone who has played a football match, or a
match in any sport, knows that this is the case.
'Having said that, I want to stress again that I
do not want to diminish the dimension of the problem of racism in
society and in sport. I am committed to fighting this plague and
kicking it out of football.'
Last night, the latest storm to engulf FIFA's
president was being digested by Sports Minister Hugh Robertson and
the FA.
But there was condemnation from Football Against
Racism In Europe, who described Blatter's comments as 'insensitive
and not what you want to hear from someone who should be leading
the game'.
PFA chief Gordon Taylor condemned Blatter's
comments, saying: 'It's very insensitive and inappropriate at this
time. As the president of FIFA he's got to be shouting from the top
of the hills that it's unacceptable.'
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore
said racism does still exist in football and that they would
continue to strive to eradicate it.
He told CNN: 'Racism exists in the world, racism certainly still
exists in football, albeit reduced. There are still issues, of
course there are and we're not complacent about that, but I think
it's a bit of a stretch to say it doesn't exist because it
does.'
Strong stance:
Premier League chief Richard Scudamore
Asked about the two FA investigations
into allegations of on-pitch racism Scudamore added: 'The English
game has led and has been at the forefront of reducing incidents of
racist behaviour, it's totally unacceptable.
'Everybody in the game in England understands
it's totally unacceptable, we have that reputation and as far as
I'm aware that reputation is still intact until proven
otherwise.
'But of course the game will deal with whatever
is thrown against it. There is no place for it in football let
alone in England and we will continue to strive to eradicate
it.'
Rio Ferdinand, the former England captain and
brother of Anton, was one of several footballers to express his
considerable dismay on his Twitter page.