Blatter: Lack of fair play spoiled final
Reuters - Monday 12 July 2010, 14:02
JOHANNESBURG - FIFA president Sepp
Blatter admitted on Monday that he was let down by the behaviour
of the players in Sunday's World Cup final between Netherlands
and Spain.
"The final was not exactly what FIFA, and what myself, had
expected, in terms of fair play," he told reporters.
"The refereeing trio had a really hard task on the field and
I can say they were not helped in this task."
Blatter declined to comment on the much-criticised
performance of English referee Howard Webb but reiterated his
view that controversy was one of the game's attractions.
Webb showed 13 yellow cards in a bruising encounter - a
record for the final - and sent off Dutch defender John
Heitinga in extra time.
"This is the human aspect of our game," Blatter said.
"If our game was perfect, if our game was scientific, if our
game was controlled only by technology, by science, there would
be no more discussion.
"This is football. We have to live with the errors, the
errors of the players and the errors of the referees.
"I don't think perfection exists."
Blatter denied he had been booed by the crowd at Soccer City
stadium when he went onto the pitch before Sunday's match, which
Spain won 1-0.
"The only thing I was aware of was that there were less
vuvuzelas," he said.
"I don't know about this. In this country and everywhere I
have been, I have always been received as a friend, as an
African.
"Yesterday, it was the same, we went on the field of play
and I can say it was a great moment."
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