Gary Lineker refused to work with FIFA after proposed Vladimir Putin meeting

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FT Desk

Gary Lineker vowed never to work for FIFA again after football's governing body attempted to schedule a meeting between the presenter and Vladimir Putin.

In December of 2017, Lineker hosted the draw in Moscow for the group stage in of the 2018 World Cup, which was set to be held in Russia.

Former players and dignitaries such as Pele, Diego Maradona, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho all met Putin during the festivities surrounding the draw, but Lineker had to come up with an excuse not to see the Russian President.

“I made the decision quite a few years ago to not be associated with FIFA in any way, deliberately, because particularly with going into the fact that I’m in the media," he said on The Rest is Football podcast.

“And, sometimes, whether it was when I worked for the BBC or even now doing this show, I think it’s better if you’re not influenced from the inside. So I’ve kept my distance deliberately, I would say, probably since the turn of this decade. It was a deliberate ploy.

“Having done the World Cup draw for them in 2018 – and I remember they wanted me to meet Vladimir Putin and I thought: ‘I don’t want to do that.’ And I just told them: ‘I’m sorry, I’ve got so much to do with the script. I’m trying to get it all ready.’

“And then I felt it was a slightly uncomfortable position. And I thought, going down the line, that it’s probably better to distance myself.”

The former Match of the Day Presenter did meet FIFA President Gianni Infantino around this time and he's provided his two cents on the current scandal surrounding FIFA.

Infantino is under major pressure following his failed FIFA Forward Enterprise proposals, while he also faces scrutiny for his relationship with United States President Donald Trump, as FIFA is supposed to remain politically neutral.

Despite numerous confederations and countries officially withdrawing support for his presidency, he announced his intention to run for the role again next year.

In Lineker's opinion, the FIFA Presidency needs to rotate more frequently to limit power.

“It’s ludicrous that someone can be a consistent president of FIFA. I think it needs to be a little bit like maybe American presidents. I think you can serve one term," he suggested.

“It should be just a thing that goes around. I think maybe one term, one World Cup or even two, but no more than that just because otherwise you provoke this sort of behaviour if you get some kind of rogue guy at the top who loses his sense of decency.”

“Obviously, you need a committee that runs the events and stuff, but just diminish that power of the president. A rotation system where different people from different parts of the world do it for one year, or whatever.

“I don’t know what the answer is, but we’ve got to get away from this oligarchic manner of the president is all powerful, and they basically last as long as they like, because, once they’re in, they can promise every federation so much money.”

England are one of the nations that withdrew support for Infantino and Lineker added that he reckons the Italian would be booed if he attended any games in the United Kingdom.