PUTIN ON A SHOW FOR BLATTER
DISGRACED former FIFA president Sepp Blatter will be at the Russia World Cup after being invited by Vladimir Putin.
Blatter is serving a six-year ban from all football-related duties, which was imposed by FIFA’s ethics committee amid a corruption scandal at the Swiss-based organisation.
He has been advised by his lawyers not to travel abroad while inquiries into football corruption in other countries are ongoing.
But when asked if he would go to Russia for the tournament, Blatter, 81, said: “Yes, definitely. President Vladimir Putin has invited me. I may only not be used as a referee, but everything else is possible.”
Blatter is the subject of criminal proceedings in Switzerland, although has not been formally indicted.