WORLD CUP IN QATAR IN 2022 IS "A MISTAKE" SAYS SEPP BLATTER

Sepp Blatter

The decision to grant Qatar this month's World Cup was "mistake," according to former FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

When the tournament's executive committee decided that it will be held in Russia and Qatar in 2018 and 2022, respectively, the 86-year-old was in charge of the world football governing body.

Low-paid migrant workers and regulations that discriminate against same-sex relationships have raised concerns before to this year's World Cup.

Blatter asserts that he did not vote for Qatar but rather for a "gesture of peace" by holding the two competitions first in Russia, then in the USA.

"At the time, we actually agreed in the executive committee that Russia should get the 2018 World Cup and the USA that of 2022.

"It would have been a gesture of peace if the two long-standing political opponents had hosted the World Cup one after the other," Blatter told Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger.

Adding that Qatar is, "too small a country" and "football and the World Cup are too big for that."