Soccer
Jomo Sono defends Blatter
2011-11-22 15:00
Johannesburg - Jomo Sono has thrown his weight behind Sepp Blatter following the FIFA president's controversial comments on racism in football.
Blatter came under fire last week after saying incidents of
racial discrimination between players on the pitch could be settled with
a handshake at the end of the match.
The Swiss, who has received support from SAFA, later apologised for causing offence, insisting he was misunderstood.
Sono finds the criticism puzzling.
"I simply can't understand the whole pandemonium surrounding
Blatter's comments. All he was trying to do was restrict the issue to
players only by insisting it does not exist on the field of play, but
reactions from the opposition has been nothing but a farce, particularly
from the English," Sono told Jomo Cosmos' website.
"If Blatter is truly a racist as they claim, I don't think he'd
have brought the World Cup to Africa. Whatever he said or may not have
said is immaterial at this time as his successes far outweigh his
shortcomings.
"Sometimes people say things in the heat of the moment, things
they may regret afterwards, but in this case I think he was only trying
to play fair.
"From my point of view, his critics, particularly the English,
should judge Blatter based on his numerous achievements in football and
not by his views on racism.
"These are mere misinterpretations aimed at discrediting a man that has done so much for football," Sono concluded.