Sports / Soccer |
FIFA chief Blatter says altitude row to be resolved soon(Reuters)Updated: 2007-07-06 08:53 GUATEMALA CITY, July 5 - The row which began when FIFA banned internationals being staged at an altitude in excess of 2,500 metres (8,200 feet) will be resolved before September's World Cup qualifying games, says president Sepp Blatter. Bolivia led an angry reaction when world soccer's governing body recently imposed the ban. "It is a topic that must be resolved in a very logical way," Blatter told reporters during an International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Guatemala. IOC member Blatter said it was unfair to hold matches at high altitude, giving the home team an advantage and threatening the health of players. "It (the dispute) will be resolved soon because World Cup qualifiers start in September," he said. "You can play football at high altitude but only if you have time to acclimatise." He said the frequency of World Cup qualifying matches, sometimes only a few days apart, did not allow for sufficient acclimatisation for players. Bolivia President Evo Morales has led the campaign to have the ruling overturned, taking part in a kickabout with his aides on a mountain at nearly 6,000 metres above sea level. Earlier this year, Brazilian club Flamengo issued a furious protest after playing a South American Libertadores Cup match at nearly 4,000 metres above sea level against Real Potosi in Bolivia. Brazil's first defeat in a World Cup qualifier was in the Bolivian capital La Paz in 1993. If matches were allowed at 3,000 metres, a suggested compromise, they could be played in Quito and Bogota, the capitals of Ecuador and Colombia respectively. But it would still mean La Paz, situated at 3,600 metres, was out of bounds.
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