Blatter says picking Qatar as World Cup host was a ‘mistake’

By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer

GENEVA (AP) — Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter says picking Qatar to host the World Cup was a mistake 12 years ago. Blatter led FIFA at the time of the vote and says soccer and the World Cup are too big for a country as small as Qatar. He repeated his claim that key votes for Qatar were swayed by a 2010 meeting in Paris between then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy and FIFA vice president Michel Platini. The 86-year-old Blatter spoke with a Swiss newspaper group. It was his first major interview since being acquitted with Platini in July of financial misconduct at FIFA.