Blatter welcomes McBeth replacement
Sepp Blatter today added his voice to mounting criticism of John McBeth, the Scot dramatically dumped as Britain’s FIFA vice-president following an extraordinary attack on African and Caribbean nations.
In his address to the FIFA Congress, where he is due to be re-elected for a third presidential term later today, Blatter supported the move to get rid of McBeth after his criticism of the Swiss lawyer and his comments on African and Caribbean football associations.
“I would like to congratulate the four British associations for their courageous decision not to highlight a member who has recently attacked the Caribbean and African countries in declarations which are totally negative,” said Blatter.
The former Clyde chairman had been due to take up his post today but was replaced yesterday after an emergency meeting of the four home associations when FA chairman Geoff Thompson was installed in his place to represent British interests at the top table of world football.
Had the move not happened, the so-called British seat, enshrined in the Fifa statutes since 1946, would have been left unfilled for another 12 months amid fears it might have been eliminated altogether.
