FIFA boss calls for FIFA to be ‘fairer’

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has called for the organisation to “be more open” in a wide-ranging interview with BBC Sport.

The former player, who was recently named as the new president of the FIFA congress, also expressed concern about the number of players who have been arrested and prosecuted by authorities.

“If we are not doing more to deal with the problem, then I think we will never solve it,” Blatter said.

“We must also make sure that it is not only players who are arrested but also others who commit crimes, which is the problem that we have seen.”

He said he had asked the FA, the national governing body for football, to conduct an investigation into the issue.

“The FA is already doing a lot to deal [with the issue],” Blatter added.

“But the question is what is going to be done with the others who have committed crimes.”

FIFA president says he wants to ‘open up’ The 76-year-old said he did not think the football body had a “sensible approach” towards players’ rights and criticised the current state of the investigation into Neymar’s alleged “assault” on a referee in 2014.

“FIFA has a legal framework which is extremely strict and I think the FA should be a bit more open,” he said.

Blatter’s comments come amid growing concerns that the World Cup and World Cup qualifying tournaments have become “safe” havens for organised crime.

“It’s very, very worrying,” said former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner.

“For the first time since I’ve been there, I think this has become an opportunity for organised criminals to move around and to work together.”

Blatter, who took over the FIFA presidency on August 1, has faced criticism over his handling of the corruption crisis and alleged links between Russia and the 2018 World Cup, in Russia.

He is due to attend a meeting of the executive committee of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on November 3, where the World Bank, the United States, the European Union and the World Economic Forum will discuss the crisis.