Blatter: 2022 World Cup may be unsafe

Published Jan. 14, 2013 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has raised fresh doubts about the safety of playing the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in summertime, saying supporters could struggle to cope with the heat outside stadiums.

There have been growing calls to move the tournament to the winter to avoid the sweltering desert heat which is expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in June and July.

Blatter says players and fans will be fine in the air-conditioned stadiums but ''the World Cup is also outside of the stadia so it is a question mark.''

In a wide-ranging interview on ''Special Report'' on Sky Sports News, football's most powerful man reiterated his belief in introducing points deductions for incidents of racist abuse and confirmed he would be standing down in 2015.