Don't back British team, says Fifa boss

Published on Saturday 8 March 2008 18:39

FIFA boss, Sepp Blatter, has warned Scotland not to take part in any proposed British team at the 2012 Olympics in London.

The supremo of football's world governing body suggested that any such move could leave the door open for calls for a UK united side in major soccer tournaments, such as the World Cup and European Championships.

Blatter's comments come just days after Lord Coe, chairman of the London Olympic 2012 organising committee, revealed he was trying to persuade Sir Alex Ferguson to manage a British team at the Games.

Blatter was speaking yesterday ahead of the International Football Association Board meeting being held this weekend in Gleneagles.

Asked if he could understand the SFA's reticence for a joint team, he replied: "I can. Absolutely. It is good for the political aspects of the British associations that they keep their different leagues.

"If they say they should have one team for the Olympics then that team should be one of the countries and not one nation."

He continued: "I think when it comes to these Olympics there should be one team from one of the countries playing and not a combination."

Blatter was asked whether, if there was one British team at the 2012 Games, there would be subsequent calls from within Fifa to have one British World Cup team. He replied: "Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure. The best solution for London (in 2012] is that only the English team play. That's the best solution. To make a combined team is not a good idea."

Blatter has already assured the SFA that if they competed as part of a UK team in the 2012 Games that their individual footballing status would not be under threat.

However, senior figures at Hampden Park, along with their counterparts at the Welsh FA, are looking beyond Blatter's reign and believe his reassurance might not hold any weight depending on who, eventually replaces him as Fifa chief.

Calls for a joint British team in 2012 have received the backing of the Secretary of State for Culture, Andy Burnham, who said he saw the idea just as a one-off for the London Games.