Turkey has criticised FIFA president Sepp Blatter for commenting on the violent scenes that followed the World Cup playoff defeat by Switzerland, believing his remarks could prejudice any investigation.
“I am disappointed to hear the statement of the FIFA president before the reports of the match are unveiled,” Mehmet Ali Sahin, state minister responsible for sports, told a news briefing.
“He spoke as a Swiss fan instead of as a president… These kinds of statements are misleading the decision-makers.
“If such a decision is taken it is going to be very controversial. We expect FIFA to evaluate the event objectively,” Sahin said.
“I personally do not think the behaviour of players towards each other could lead to a penalty for a country, that kind of behaviour is very spontaneous and cannot be stopped immediately.
“Our hospitality is much more important than the result we get on the field. I was disappointed by the behaviour of some fans toward Swiss players at the airport but the Swiss team has exaggerated this to the world,” Sahin added.
Turkish Football Federation chairman Levent Bicakci also criticised Blatter’s comments.
“Our federation finds the FIFA president’s statement really odd and we will do whatever we can to clarify this event and to make sure that Switzerland gets the same penalty as Turkey,” he told a news conference.
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