10 Things Sepp Blatter Wants You To Forget
3. That Time He Interrupted A Minute’s Silence For Nelson Mandela
It takes untold levels of ignorance to interrupt a minute’s silence, especially a minute’s silence dedicated to somebody as universally revered as Nelson Mandela. Then again Sepp Blatter has never been known for his subtlety, or his humility, so perhaps we shouldn’t have been too surprised when he took it upon himself to take centre stage during the minute’s silence intended for South Africa’s most celebrated icon.
The occasion was the seedings draw for the 2014 World Cup. Mandela had died only the day before, and the Brazilian hosts had fittingly called for a moment’s reflection in Mandela’s honour. The moment lasted a grand total of eleven seconds. It was at that point when Blatter, perhaps impatient from waiting and wishing the attention to focus solely upon himself, interjected with the demand that those present “now applaud!”
Whether this command meant to applaud the memory of Nelson Mandela, or merely a summons for his minions to salute his presence, who knows. Either way it displayed the tactlessness we have all come to expect from Mr Blatter.