FIFA chief, Sepp Blatter, often talks about being the head of the “football family” but if the boos that greeted his appearance at the Asian Cup final on Saturday are anything to go by, he is not too popular with his Australian cousins.
The Swiss, who is expected to win a fifth term as president of soccer’s world governing body in May, was roundly jeered when he was introduced to the crowd at the trophy ceremony after Australia beat South Korea 2-1 in extra time.
Blatter was standing alongside Asian Football Confederation (AFC) chief, Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, who had provoked the ire of many in Australia when he was quoted in an interview as saying some Gulf nations wanted the Socceroos out of Asia.
It was only when Blatter himself took centre stage, however, that the boos reached a crescendo, echoing the reception he received at the World Cup final in Brazil last year.
Many Australian soccer fans are still unhappy that their government-funded bid to host the 2022 World Cup earned just one vote and lost out to Qatar, whose campaign has been dogged by controversy.
