FIFA President Causes International Soccer Controversy
Can you imagine a sports world in which the number of foreigners on a team is limited? Sports like American football would still get on fine because nearly all of its professional players are US citizens but leagues like the NHL and MLB who have many foreign players would be decimated. This is exactly the kind of world that Sepp Blatter, the controversial president of FIFA, soccer’s governing body is trying to create. Blatter is no stranger to controversy; he suggested in 2004 that women’s soccer would get more followers if the women “wore tighter shorts.” Corruption accusations stemming from Blatter’s presidential election have also popped up in recent years.
Blatter has bent the rules in the past, especially when he succeeded in banning international soccer games from being played at an altitude of 3000 meters above sea level. This ludicrous ban was protested by many South American countries especially Bolivia who’s capital La Paz is 3600 meters above sea level. The rule was suspended by FIFA in 2008. The altitude ban suspension was seen as a major setback for him personally. With that in mind Blatter then turned his thoughts toward a foreign player restriction. Blatter’s new brainchild is called the “6+5” rule. This rule stipulates that of a team’s 11 starters, only 5 can come from a foreign country. For example, a team in the English Premier League must have 6 English starters for every game. Read more
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