The highest-ranking official in football wants the Swiss player who was expelled from the Olympics for posting a threatening and racist message to be banned from other competition.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter supports the SwissOlympic committee‘s decision to send Michel Morganella home for his Twitter post about South Koreans on Monday, hours after his team lost to the same opponent. Blatter said FIFA would accept any further international ban taken in Switzerland against Morganella.
“This is now up to the football federation of Switzerland, they have to deal with this case and then they will transmit it to us,” Blatter said Tuesday from Wembley Stadium. “If the national association transmit the decision taken by their respective committees to FIFA asking for a ban, then we do it.”
Blatter, who is Swiss, was attending an anti-racism event at the London Games.
“It is embarrassing for the whole football family and for the Olympics games,” said Blatter, who was at Wembley as hosts Britain played Brazil in women’s football.
Morganella’s case comes after England’s Football Association charged Chelsea defenderJohn Terry for racially abusing an opponent last season. Terry also faced criminal charges, which were ultimately dropped.
Blatter caused furor with the Terry case when he was quoted saying any racial incidents could be settled by a handshake at the end of a match and could be “solved from within.”
At the “Let’s Kick It Out of Football” event, chairman Herman Ouseley admitted he initially thought Blatter “didn’t have a clue what racism is” after hearing the remarks, but said Tuesday “the further I reflected on his alleged remark, I thought it might have some validity. If Nelson Mandela could walk out and shake the hands of his persecutors, then there’s no reason why on the football field you can’t.”
