Sepp Blatter - king of the off-colour comment

Sepp Blatter has done it again - put his foot in it, that is. The president of FIFA has never been shy of courting controversy, and his less-than-sensitive recent comments on racism in football prove that he has once again failed to learn from past blunders. Each time he opens his mouth he manages to insult a different group of people. This is a perfect time, then, to reflect on the big man’s comical history of PR disasters...
1. Women should wear “tighter shorts”.
The Swiss insulted half of the world’s population when he made comments in 2004 about the fairer sex’s footballing outfits. He said: "Let the women play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball. They could, for example, have tighter shorts." He added: “Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so”. Andy Gray was sacked five years later for similarly sexist comments, but the Fifa boss stayed in power, probably because there was no-one to fire him.
2. The troublesome Qatar business…
If last year’s decision to host the 2022 World Cup in Qatar wasn’t controversial enough, Sepp’s reasonable, neutral and inoffensive comments certainly were. The country that no-one had heard of until FIFA plucked it from obscurity has a law banning homosexuality. When concerned pundits asked whether a world sport should be supporting a country of such inequality, Blatter made the suggestion: "I'd say they (gay fans) should refrain from any sexual activities." Given an opportunity to clarify his remarks, Blatter added further fuel to the fire by saying: "If they want to watch a match somewhere in Qatar 2022, I'm sure they will be admitted to such matches."
3. …and England are bad losers
After giving Qatar the World Cup, Blatter turned to the disappointed English and called them ‘bad losers’ after their failed bid. “To be honest, I was surprised by all the English complaining after the defeat…Now some of them are showing themselves to be bad losers” he told Swiss magazine Weltwoche. Clearly not affected by David Beckham’s sad face, he continued “I really sense in some reactions a bit of the arrogance of the western world.” Arrogance you say, Sepp?
4. Laughing at the Irish
Thierry Henry’s ‘hand of Gaul’ trick in the 2010 World Cup playoffs denied the Republic of Ireland entry to the competition, something which will surely never be forgotten. Something else that will never be forgotten is the laughter of Blatter as he read out Ireland’s request to be a 33rd team at the World Cup. Leading the FIFA conference in laughing at an already indignant nation was never a smart move, and Sepp later had to apologise, which must have been a shock for him.
5. And finally…
You would need to write a book to include all of Sepp’s blunders, but the last in our top five concerns a Mr Cristiano Ronaldo and his potential transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2008. Speaking of United’s wishes to keep hold of the player, Blatter said: “There's too much modern slavery, in transferring players or buying players.” A considerable backlash followed – but still, three years down the line, we are wondering what on earth he will say next.