Blatter chatter

France 98 is too long and the final kicks off too late, said the newly appointed FIFA president Sepp Blatter (left) yesterday. "The next World Cup should be shortened by four or five days," said Blatter. "Thirty-two days is really a long period. But he conceded that a time reduction "is not easy".

In an attempt to solve the problem, Blatter suggested playing more matches a day during the first round. But he admitted that any such changes would need to be discussed with the television companies.

The final at St Denis on Sunday kicks off at 9 p.m. French time, and Blatter said he was unhappy with that, too. "It means we cannot have a party on the same day of the final," he said. "It will have to be held in the early hours on Monday morning."

Asked why the kick-off had not been changed he replied, with a smile: "I wasn't president then."

Holland's Dennis Bergkamp would not have been playing against Brazil if FIFA's disciplinary committee had done their job, Blatter also claimed. Instead he would be serving the second of a two-match ban for stamping on Yugoslavia's Sinisa Mihajlovic in Holland's second round 2-1 victory.

The disciplinary committee has refused to study videos in France 98 to catch out cheaters and Blatter is furious. "There were two cases of them using videos in 1994. One to prevent a player getting a second yellow card and in the other to punish an Italian player for a foul on a Spanish player," said Blatter. "The disciplinary committee have the opportunity to use videos here in France, but they will not do it. I will have a word with them after the tournament, a very serious word," added Blatter.

However, Blatter's `word' may not be enough - the committee only intervenes if an act is committed behind the referee's back, which was not the case with Bergkamp.