Football
ESPN staff 9y

FIFA president Sepp Blatter plays down Platini white card proposal

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has rejected a proposal by UEFA chief Michel Platini to introduce a white card to punish protests to the referee.

Platini wants a card that would land a player with a 10 minute temporary sending-off if they were overly aggressive in their protestations, but Blatter is not willing to rip up the rulebook just yet.

"There's no sense in changing rules that have existed since 1886," he said. "But we should be flexible from a technical viewpoint."

Blatter also took time to reassert his support for Russia's hosting of the 2018 World Cup, despite calls for a boycott in the wake of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

"FIFA unconditionally supports the staging of the World Cup by Russia," he said. "A boycott will never give any positive effect. We trust the country, its government.

"Russia is in the eye of the international media. Football can not only unite Russia but show the whole world that it is stronger that any protest movement."

"Russia is the world's biggest country. You know, Russia is in the eye of the international media. Football can not only unite Russia but show the whole world that it is stronger that any protest movement."

Blatter also insisted that he was happy that Russia looked a lot more prepared than Brazil in 2014 for their hosting of the tournament.

"I can say that in comparison with Brazil, Russia is considerably ahead of schedule with four years remaining before the event's start," he added.

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