:: Women footballers in hot pants. "Come on, let's get women to play in different and more feminine garb than the men," Blatter told Sonntagsblick in a 2004 interview. Asked if he meant short skirts, Blatter said: "No, but in tighter shorts for example. In volleyball women wear different clothes from the men. Beautiful women play football nowadays, excuse me for saying so."

:: On the claims John Terry had an affair with Wayne Bridge's ex-girlfriend."If this had happened in let's say Latin countries then I think he would have been applauded."

:: On transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United to Real Madrid. "There's too much modern slavery in transferring players or buying players here and there, and putting them somewhere."

:: Banning draws. He told a German journalist in 2004 there should be winners and losers in every match. "Every game should have a winner. When you play cards or any other game, there's always a winner and a loser. We should have the courage to introduce a final decision in every game of football."

:: Enlarging the size of the goals. "The guardians of the rules are in agreement to lengthen the goals by the diameter of two balls, around 50cm, and to increase the height by the diameter of one ball," he told Stern magazine in 1996. The International FA Board soon kicked out the proposal.

:: Ahead of the 1994 World Cup in the USA, when Blatter was FIFA general secretary, he championed the idea of four quarters to make football more appealing American TV. The plan was swiftly dropped after widespread opposition.