Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter says the awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar was a “mistake”. Blatter said he was “right” to have said at the time that the tournament “should not go” to Qatar for 2022. Fifa’s executive committee voted 14-8 for Qatar to host the tournament ahead of the United States 12 years ago, at the same time Russia was awarded the 2018 event.
Awarding World Cup 2022 to Qatar was a “mistake”, says Sepp Blatter
The Fifa letter was criticised by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and LGBTQ+ campaigners in England and Wales, while 10 European football associations – including those of England and Wales – said “human rights are universal and apply everywhere”.Blatter says he voted for the United States and blames then-Uefa president Michel Platini for swinging the vote in Qatar’s favour.
“It was a bad choice and I was responsible for that as president at the time,” he said.
“Thanks to the four votes of Platini and his [Uefa] team, the World Cup went to Qatar rather than the United States. It’s the truth.”
“Since then, social considerations and human rights are taken into account,” he added.
