Gary Lineker reveals he refused to work with Fifa after Vladimir Putin request | OneFootball

Gary Lineker has revealed that he decided not to work with Fifa again after being asked to meet with Vladimir Putin while hosting the draw for the 2018 World Cup.

The former England striker conducted the ceremony in December 2017 ahead of the tournament in Russia, with fellow ex-professionals Pele, Diego Maradona, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho all meeting the Russian president during proceedings.

Lineker had previously outlined how he declined the same encounter, Lineker has now explained that it was a moment that made him realise he wanted to “distance” himself from football’s governing body.

“I made the decision quite a few years ago to not be associated with Fifa in any way, deliberately, because particularly with the fact that I’m in the media,” the former Match of the Day presenter said on The Rest is Football.

“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. And I think it has probably proved a reasonable decision in hindsight.”

Lineker’s comments come with under-fire Fifa president Gianni Infantino still intending to stand for a fourth term despite the backlash to his abandoned plan to sell off stakes in Fifa competitions.

The broadcaster believes that imposing term limits would prove a better model for the most powerful office in football.

“It’s ludicrous that someone can be a consistent president of Fifa,” Lineker explained. “I think it needs to be a little bit like maybe American presidents. I think you can serve one term.

“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.”