Deducting points could help combat racism, says Blatter
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Clubs could face points deductions or expulsion from competitions under tough new rules to deal with racism, the Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, has warned.
Blatter has instructed Fifa's legal department to look into new ways of dealing with racist fans, players or officials and new rules will be voted on at the governing body's Congress in June. Blatter said: "We need to start to deduct points from the teams. It could also mean suspension or exclusion. A financial sanction is not adequate."
Blatter has already criticised Lazio's former West Ham striker Paolo Di Canio for making a fascist salute to the club's "Ultras". Di Canio has vowed to continue with a gesture which is actually illegal in Italy despite receiving a one-match ban.
Blatter has altered his stance on whether clubs should be paid by national associations to release players. Fifa is being sued by Charleroi and Lyon, for compensation for two players injured on international duty.
He said: "The national associations should not only pay their players but also think about the clubs. If the principle is established then clubs should be paid from the World Cup allocation."
Blatter said he could understand why the French federation should pay clubs but that it would be unfair to expect poor African countries to do the same.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments