Putin: FIFA's Blatter Deserves Nobel Prize

The boss of scandal-hit FIFA deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his stewardship of world football, Vladimir Putin has said.

The Russian president was speaking in an interview on Swiss TV, days after he warmly welcomed Sepp Blatter in St Petersburg for the 2018 World Cup draw.

Mr Putin said: "We all know the situation developing around Mr Blatter right now. I don't want to go into details but I don't believe a word about him being involved in corruption personally.

"I think people like Mr Blatter or the heads of big international sporting federations, or the Olympic Games, deserve special recognition. If there is anyone who deserves the Nobel Prize, it's those people."

Mr Blatter announced in June that he was quitting over a bribery scandal being investigated by authorities in the US, Switzerland and elsewhere that has plunged FIFA into the worst crisis in its 111-year history.

Some of the FIFA president's most senior lieutenants are facing criminal charges, although Mr Blatter himself has not been accused of any wrongdoing and denies any misconduct.

Last month, as the scandal deepened, the board that gives out the Nobel Prize announced it was terminating its relationship with football's governing body.

The allegations of widespread corruption in the World Cup bidding process have cast a shadow over the forthcoming tournaments in Russia and Qatar, but Russian officials have dismissed any suggestion that they could be stripped of the event.

Last Saturday Mr Blatter assured Mr Putin that FIFA had passed a resolution offering full support for holding the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

When police swooped on FIFA's annual congress and arrested a number of officials in May, Mr Putin criticised the investigation into FIFA as an example of the US meddling in matters outside its jurisdiction.

In his latest interview, he suggested that the US and Britain - where FIFA corruption has been pursued most persistently - were bitter after missing out on the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

He said: "The way there is this fight against corruption makes me wonder if it isn't a continuation of the bids for 2018 and 2022."