Sepp Blatter Dishes On Hot Balls Scandal

Sepp Blatter’s FIFA was a world-historically corrupt organization that sold away World Cups and ran all sorts of illegal-ass schemes until the Justice Department shut them down and he got replaced by a new, not entirely different president. Even though he’s widely reviled (or held up, depending on how well your bribes work) as the gold standard for corrupt sports officials, that hasn’t stopped him from teeing off at one of his great enemies, UEFA.

In an interview with Argentine paper , Blatter alleged that UEFA fixed the Euro 2016 draw via the use of hot and cold balls. Per Marca:

“I saw it with my own eyes and it was like cheating,” Blatter said. “It was for a European competition. Only one team has managed that. It was an Italian side. You can see the balls that are drawn identified either by making them hot, or if they have been cooled. I was a witness.”

This is classic Blatter. He’s trying to paint himself as a brave whistleblower, telling bold truths to keep fans on top of corruption in soccer. Here’s AS of him talking some more about hot balls:

So the theory of hot and cold balls is a reality

Blatter: Of course it’s possible, technically. It doesn’t happen in FIFA, but I’ve witnessed draws at European level where it’s happened, but never in FIFA. Of course it can be done, but it never happened under my watch, never.

Given the source, this could very easily be bullshit. However, soccer is openly, widely corrupt across the world, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he was telling the truth. Either way, Ole Sepp is probably not going to stop offering his takes at any point in the duration of his eight-year ban.