FREEPRESS — Sepp Blatter, FIFA President on Thursday dismissed a joint invitation from the BBC and Sky to take part in a televised debate with his rivals for the FIFA presidency.
According to the guardian media an online publication, Sky and the BBC wrote to Blatter and his three rivals the Luís Figo, Ali bin al-Hussein and Michael van Praag.
Greg Dyke, The English FA chairman, said he would “love to see a leaders’ debate’’ and offered to host it at Wembley.
“All three rival candidates were quick to back the plan but Blatter has, perhaps unsurprisingly, refused to take part when it made the invitation.
“We believe this will present an unprecedented opportunity for the candidates to set out their plans and communicate directly with fans from around the world.
“We hope for a positive response from all four candidates,” the statement said.
It stated that fans from all 209 FIFA members are expected to submit questions for the candidates via social media or the internet.
According to the statement, Blatter refused even to engage with the idea and failed to respond by letter, instead asking an official to telephone the broadcasters to relay his decision.
(NAN)
