Berlin, March 24 (IANS) Despite being banned from football, former International Federation of Association Football ( FIFA) president Joseph Blatter plans to go to the 2018 World Cup in Russia as a guest of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The 80-year old Blatter told Thursday's edition of German paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, "I accept the invitations I receive", reports Xinhua.
Blatter is banned for six years by FIFA in connection with a disloyal $2-million payment made in 2011 to European body UEFA boss Michel Platini who has been sanctioned in the same way by the ruling body.
Blatter and Platini are appealing their bans at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). If the sanction still stands by the time of the World Cup, Blatter will not be allowed to attend the games as a guest of honour but only as a spectator with a ticket he paid for.
