FIFA World Cup 2018: Sepp Blatter says he is seeing tournament as a ‘fan’

Banned former FIFA president Sepp Blatter attended a World Cup match in Moscow on Wednesday and said the soccer tournament was a bit like “my World Cup” because of the warm welcome he had received in Russia. Blatter, who led FIFA for 17 years, is serving a six-year ban from “all football activities” for unethical conduct after soccer's world governing body was rocked by a global corruption scandal in 2015. “I am a guest from Russia, I am a fan, I got an accreditation as a fan, just fan. It was written 'fan', I am a fan, that's all. Yes, listen I met President (Vladimir) Putin yesterday evening, he invited me in his apartment in the Kremlin, it's not the first time I am there, and we had small talk, that's all, about the World Cup and about his pleasure to have the World Cup here now, and when you have a look what has happened in the first week on the field of play it's good football, it's attractive football, passionate football,” Blatter said (Video credit: Perform).