€66 million Mastercard error my fault alone, says Blatter

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has insisted the responsibility for the Mastercard debacle which cost the world governing body £45 million (€66.8m) rests solely on his shoulders.

Blatter was speaking after the appointment of former marketing chief Jerome Valcke to the post of FIFA general secretary. The 46-year-old will assume the role of a chief executive and as such, become one of the most powerful men in football.

FIFA announced in December that Valcke and three other marketing executives had been dismissed after a US court accused them of “repeated dishonesty” during sponsorship negotiations with MasterCard.