Sepp, take a break!

Day -959. WorldCup2018.

After Tokyo Sexwale, I'm working on Musa Biliti, the Liberian candidate for Fifa President. But that will come tomorrow.

Today, I find myself sparing a thought for Sepp Blatter. When I read the news yesterday that he had suffered a "medical incident" I didn't give it much thought. Sympathy was hard to come by for someone who has taken the spotlight away from football and onto all the things that are wrong with football.

But on reflection, it's no wonder the man has been told he is suffering from stress-related issues. He is 79, was forced to step down from as President after the allegations of corruption got to close to him, he's been banned by his own organisation and he faces a daily onslaught in the media about how he has ruined Fifa. You wonder how he has managed to maintain his outwardly calm demeanour, that of a man who acts like none of these accusations will harm him.

A problem for Blatter right now is that he can't just walk away and say he's done. He can't come clean, to clear his conscience as he drifts off into a life away from Fifa. All the allegations must add up to some truth, and after years of denial any admission will lead to years of further investigations. If he says he has done nothing wrong but is implementing a self-imposed ban on anything even remotely associated with football it will leave a multitude of questions unanswered. He quite simply will not be able to do that.

So as much as he may dream of all this going away, it never will. He's going to have to be at his fighting best for many years to come yet.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/nov/06/sepp-blatter-stress-fifa