David Cameron's description of footballing politics as "murky" has brought a brisk rebuke from FIFA president Sepp Blatter. The Prime Minister used the description after England's World Cup bid attracted just two votes from FIFA's executive committee, despite promises of support from several members.

Blatter defended FIFA, although he again stressed that the decision to hold the vote for two World Cups at the same time was a mistake that will not be repeated.

He said: "I don't like the word murky in this context. Have you ever had in the world transparency in votes or elections? You do not know who will win until the end.

"Those that have lost, I can understand they are not happy. If England had got past the first round, I'm sure they would have got more votes in the second round, but the problem was they didn't get through, and the same happened to Australia for 2022."