From
www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/34657900
Sepp Blatter: Russia 2018 World Cup 'agreed before vote'
Suspended Fifa president Sepp Blatter has suggested there was an agreement in place for Russia to host the 2018 World Cup - before the vote took place.
The 79-year-old told Russian news agency Tass of a "discussion" in 2010 about future World Cups.
He said a late swing in voting that gave Qatar the 2022 World Cup undid a similar agreement to hand it to the US.
Swiss Blatter is serving a 90-day ban alongside Uefa chief Michel Platini, 60, and both deny any wrongdoing.
Asked whether it was a mistake to hold voting for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments simultaneously, Blatter replied that before the ballot: "It was agreed inside the group that we go to Russia because it has never been to eastern Europe, and for 2022 we go back to America.
"And so we would have the World Cup in the two biggest political powers."
But he added that four votes from Europe later switched from the USA to Qatar.
The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments is the subject of an ongoing Swiss criminal investigation. It was begun alongside a US inquiry following the arrest and indictment of several top executives by the US Department of Justice on corruption charges.
What else did Blatter reveal?
In a wide-ranging interview, Blatter, who will be replaced as head of world football's governing body at an election on 26 February 2016, also said:
Russia will "never" lose the 2018 World Cup
England are "bad losers" over perceived media criticism of the 2018 and 2022 Word Cup bidding process
Most national football associations "don't like" Uefa-backed Fifa presidential candidate Gianni Infantino
His own current suspension is a "total nonsense" and the Fifa ethics committee has failed him
Blatter said it was "his dream" for his ban to end in time to conduct the February congress when the election to replace him with one of seven candidates will take place.
He also said he should have stood down after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil but stayed because of concerns that Uefa, European football's governing body, would become too dominant within Fifa.
"The other confederations were afraid that Uefa would take over everything because they have the money and the players," said Blatter.
"Uefa has an anti-Fifa virus."
