Dangerous tacklers are criminals and should be prosecuted, insists Blatter

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Blatter believes reckless challenges are one of the biggest scourges of the modern game and insists there should be harsh penalties for the perpetrators, including criminal charges where necessary.

"Dangerous tackling is one of the most important issues in football at the moment," Blatter told The Times.

Blatter: inviting lawyers to prosecute players for dangerous tackles?

"Players who do this kind of thing intentionally should be banned from the game."

He added: "Attacking somebody is criminal, whether it happens on a football pitch or elsewhere. It is a crime and should be treated as such."

Blatter, who is to push for tougher refereeing ahead of Euro 2008, insists managers are often as guilty as the players who dive into challenges.

"The mechanism where this happens today is obvious," he said. "The pressure on the coach or manager to win is such that he encourages his players to go for victory at any cost.

"There is no microphone in the dressing-room, so he says, 'go, go, go'. Until when? Until the point where the referee intervenes."

Blatter also reiterated his opposition to the Premier League's floundering plan for a 39th game, insisting he would not soften his stance.

"It is impossible that they can persuade me of this," he said. "They cannot do it.

"It is not only me who is against this, it is others, too. I represent the family of football and I will bring this to the Congress of Fifa if necessary."

The FIFA president also spoke about the seeming absence of gay footballers from the game.

"There are gay footballers, but they don't declare it because they think it will not be accepted in these macho organisations," he said.

"But football is open for everybody, which is why they made a gay competition in South America. And look at women's football: homosexuality is more popular there."