Blatter: South African stadiums better than Europe
Reuters - Thursday 08 July 2010, 16:56
JOHANNESBURG - FIFA president Sepp Blatter
lavished praise on South Africa's World Cup stadiums on
Thursday, saying they were better than in Europe.
"These stadiums are jewels from the architectural point of
view, they are really, really good stadiums," he told reporters.
"Wherever the spectators are in the stadium, they have a
complete view of the pitch.
"There is not one single European country which has so many
good and high level stadiums as the ones which are here in South
Africa."
Blatter expressed hope that former South African president
Nelson Mandela would be present at Sunday's final between Spain
and Netherlands.
"If he can come to the stadium, it will be good," he said.
"Whether he can stay for the whole final, I do not know.
"He has had the trophy in his hands in Zurich in 2004 and it
would be a wonderful moment for him, for football, for Africa,
if this could be a possibility."
Despite a tournament marred by some play-acting and
occasional refereeing controversies, Blatter praised the
behaviour of the players.
"The fair play of the players is a compliment to the teams
and coaches because the statistics have shown that there are
less injuries and this is very important, there have been less
yellow and red cards, the players have been respectful to their
opponents.
Follow FFT.com on Twitter
Join FFT.com on Facebook