Maradona blasts Blatter re-election
Revered footballer Diego Maradona has criticised the re-election of Sepp Blatter as president of the sport’s world governing body Fifa.
Speaking from Dubai where he signed a contract to coach the Al Wasl club, the Argentinian said it was not surprising the 75-year-old Swiss had been re-elected for a fourth term.
Zurich-based Fifa was a “museum” full of “dinosaurs who don’t want to give up power”, he said, adding that Blatter had “never kicked a football”.
Blatter received 186 out of a possible 208 votes at Fifa’s Congress in Zurich on Wednesday. His only challenger Mohamed bin Hamman pulled out of the race after being suspended on suspicion of bribery.
The corruption and match-fixing scandals plaguing Fifa are “not football”, Maradona added.
Maradona is the latest big name player or football executive to take aim at Fifa, which has seen its credibility damaged in recent months by an unprecedented string of match-fixing cases and corruption allegations about the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.
Also on Saturday, Fifa announced it was investigating Argentina’s 4-1 loss in Nigeria on Wednesday after betting patterns suggested it was targeted by match fixers.
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