Putin: FIFA chief Blatter for Nobel Prize

Russian President Vladamir Putin is defending the embattled head of FIFA, saying Sepp Blatter should be getting international recognition for his efforts.

Putin lent his support to Blatter, the head of the international soccer association, during an interview on Swiss television on Monday, despite the fact that he briefly floated his resignation amidst the group’s serious legal turmoil.

{mosads}“We all know the situation developing around Mr. Blatter right now. I don’t want to go into details, but I don’t believe a word about him being involved in corruption personally,” Putin said, according to Reuters.

“I think people like Mr. Blatter or the heads of big international sporting federations, or the Olympic Games, deserve special recognition. If there is anyone who deserves the Nobel Prize, it’s those people.”

Blatter has since walked back his resignation even though the Justice Department filed corruption charges against five FIFA executives in May.  The charges include racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering, as well as accusations of accepting bribes from countries looking to host the World Cup, including Russia for 2018. 

Putin has been a vocal critic of the Obama administration’s probe from the start, criticizing it on Russian television as “another blatant attempt [by America] to extend its jurisdiction to other states,” after the arrests came in concert with Swiss authorities.