Blatter flying to Moscow for World Cup, spokesman says

Moscow: Banned former Fifa president Sepp Blatter will fly to Moscow on Tuesday to visit the football World Cup and meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, his spokesman said.

Blatter, who led Fifa for 17 years, is currently serving a six-year ban for unethical conduct after football’s world governing body was rocked by a global corruption scandal in 2015. Blatter will meet Putin on Wednesday, spokesman Thomas Renggli said, and watch Portugal take on Morocco at Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium.

Blatter said in March he had been invited to attend the World Cup by Putin, with whom he has a long-standing close relationship, and he was “honoured” to accept.