Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has triggered a new verbal storm by calling his successor Gianni Infantino an "unbridled" "dictator" in an interview with Der Spiegel magazine.
Relations at the top of global football governance have just taken a particularly stormy turn. Sepp Blatter, who presided over FIFA's destiny for nearly eighteen years before leaving his post amid turmoil, did not mince his words regarding his own successor.
In an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel published on Wednesday, November 11, the former Swiss executive delivered a systematic attack against Gianni Infantino. According to Blatter, his successor would embody a form of unconstrained power, explicitly calling him a "dictator" and going so far as to suggest that a psychiatric evaluation would be appropriate.
These statements come in a context where tensions between the two men have persisted since the controversial transfer of power in 2016. Blatter, weakened by corruption scandals that shook the institution, had seen Infantino succeed him in circumstances that some observers had described as tumultuous.
The governance of international football thus finds itself once again shaken by personal quarrels at the highest level. The criticisms formulated by Blatter raise legitimate questions about the exercise of power within the governing body of world football, as the organization attempts to turn the page on the scandals that have tarnished its reputation.
It remains to be seen whether these verbal attacks will resonate beyond the columns of the German magazine, but they serve as a reminder that personal rivalries continue to weigh on the governance of the world's most popular sport on a global scale.
In an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel published on Wednesday, November 11, the former Swiss executive delivered a systematic attack against Gianni Infantino. According to Blatter, his successor would embody a form of unconstrained power, explicitly calling him a "dictator" and going so far as to suggest that a psychiatric evaluation would be appropriate.
These statements come in a context where tensions between the two men have persisted since the controversial transfer of power in 2016. Blatter, weakened by corruption scandals that shook the institution, had seen Infantino succeed him in circumstances that some observers had described as tumultuous.
The governance of international football thus finds itself once again shaken by personal quarrels at the highest level. The criticisms formulated by Blatter raise legitimate questions about the exercise of power within the governing body of world football, as the organization attempts to turn the page on the scandals that have tarnished its reputation.
It remains to be seen whether these verbal attacks will resonate beyond the columns of the German magazine, but they serve as a reminder that personal rivalries continue to weigh on the governance of the world's most popular sport on a global scale.
Advertisement
Source: Ouest-France