After their recent draw with Wigan Liverpool are now 12 points adrift of leaders Arsenal. Click here for all the latest outright betting.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has criticised England’s decision to hire a foreign coach to lead the national team.

Italian Fabio Capello succeeded Steve McClaren following England’s failure to qualify for Euro 2008.

The FIFA president claimed the FA had “broken a principle of international football” by not choosing an Englishman.

Blatter told BBC Sport: “I have never seen Italy, Germany, Brazil or Argentina with a coach from another country. In fact, most of the best teams have a coach from their own country.

“I would say it is a little surprising that the motherland of football has ignored a sacrosanct law or belief that the national team manager should be from the same country as the players.”

Blatter said England’s failure to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals should be regarded as a watershed for the English game and a warning about the number of foreign players currently playing in the Premiership.

“When you talk about being a football nation and you look at the big clubs in the Premier League it is not the English or British game that is represented,” he continued. “The clubs are international XIs.

“There is no doubt that the Premier League is a global success story in terms of marketing and money. But one has to question whether this success has been for the benefit of the game, and not just in England but elsewhere, because the example of football’s motherland is important.

“People want the best for their clubs and the Premier League clubs can afford it. But this does not serve football. To serve football you must never forget the national team.”

After their recent draw with Wigan Liverpool are now 12 points adrift of leaders Arsenal. Click here for all the latest outright betting.