The embattled president of FIFA, the governing body for world soccer, told a German newspaper the presidents of France and Germany tried to exert political pressure before the World Cup was awarded to Russia and Qatar, reports Business Insider.
Sepp Blatter has become entangled in a corruption investigation of the sport's governing body, which involves the decision to hold the World Cup in the two countries. Blatter has not been accused of any wrongdoing, but he has retained an attorney.
In a story published on Sunday, the newspaper Welt am Sonntag quoted Blatter as saying: "Before the World Cup was awarded to Russia and Qatar, there were two political interventions.
"Mr (Nicolas) Sarkozy and (Christian) Wulff tried to influence their voting representatives. Therefore, we now have a World Cup in Qatar. The people who decided this should also take responsibility," he added.
No one was immediately available at Sarkozy's office or Wulff's office to comment. Welt am Sonntag reported, however, that Wulff had denied trying to influence the vote in his book.
Read more of this Reuters report published by Business Insider.