Putin marks 1000 days to 2018 World Cup

Sep 18, 2015 - 10:22 AM Russia marked 1000 days to go until the 2018 World Cup, but FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke was absent on Friday after being suspended from his duties.

Against the backdrop of turmoil at FIFA, Russian President Vladimir Putin said World Cup preparations were going to plan as he launched a youth football tournament in Red Square.

Speaking by video link, Putin said "Russia always approaches events like (the World Cup) in a responsible way in terms of hosting and organisation.

"The preparations for the World Cup in 11 cities of our country who have the honour to host the championships are in full swing."

There was no reference to Valcke, FIFA President Sepp Blatter's right-hand man, who had been due to appear at the event before being suspended on Thursday. That followed allegations Valcke was involved in black market sales of tickets to 2014 World Cup matches.

At the ceremony in Moscow on Friday, Valcke's place was taken by the less well known Colin Smith, FIFA's director of competitions.

Speaking in Red Square, German World Cup winner Lothar Matthaus, one of a group of football stars invited by FIFA, suggested misconduct at FIFA had partly overshadowed the event in Moscow.

"FIFA's obviously been a hot topic for several months - it's discussed a lot. It's obvious that some people haven't done what was expected of them, but what I don't consider right is that everyone piles all the guilt on Sepp Blatter," he said.

"Yesterday, there was a negative light cast on the story but it doesn't have much to do with this event here."

Source: AAP