UEFA competition draw was rigged by cooling balls - Sepp Blatter
Ex-Fifa president makes revelation that he saw draw being fixed
- Blatter also says that he never saw any rogue draws on his watch at Fifa
- Fixing admitted by disgraced official to Argentinian newspaper La Nación
Disgraced former Fifa president Sepp Blatter has revealed that he personally saw the fixing of a draw for a major European football competition.
Blatter did not disclose which competition he believed to be rigged, but that he had seen a process in which draw balls were identified using a cooling process which differentiated them from others.
Only one team had benefitted from this practice according to Blatter's interview with Argentinian newspaper La Nación, and he also said that the process was never used under his watch while in control of Fifa.
Only one team had benefitted from this practice according to Blatter's interview with Argentinian newspaper La Nación
“Of course it’s possible that they can be signalled, by heating or cooling them. It doesn’t happen in Fifa, but I’ve witnessed draws at European level where it has happened, but never in Fifa. Of course it can be done, but it never happened under my watch, never," the Swiss said.
He explained the process by which balls are placed in the freezer before a draw, and "at the slightest touch you can tell if the balls are hot or cold."
Blatter was asked by La Nación if the 2014 World Cup draw was fixed, as Argentina had received quite a favourable group.
“The draw was clean down to the last detail. I never touched the balls, something that others did."