Sepp Blatter has rejected an offer from BBC and Sky to appear on TV with his presidential rivals ahead of this year’s elections.
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The BBC and Sky invited Blatter along with his rivals Luis Figo, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, and Michael van Praag to take part in a live debate, but despite his challengers all accepting, Blatter declined.
Ahead of the rejection, the FA chairman Greg Dyke told the Guardian that he would “love to see a leaders’ debate”, while Sky said “We believe this will present an unprecedented opportunity for the candidates to set out their plans and communicate directly with fans from around the world. We hope for a positive response from all four candidates.”
It had been hoped that fans from all 209 FIFA members would ask questions to the four candidates via various social media accounts, but Blatter refused to even respond directly to Sky, instead getting a member of staff to call on his behalf.