FIFA Chief Slams Deadly Boston Marathon Blasts
FIFA chief Sepp Blatter on Wednesday condemned the deadly attacks at the Boston marathon, urging authorities to pull out all the stops in preventing such tragedies.
"What happened in Boston is a drama, a tragedy," the head of world football's governing body said in Spanish, speaking to reporters as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Cuba.
"It was an attack on sport, and it was an attack on one of the most popular sports there: marathons."
U.S. investigators have said they believe the two bombs, which killed three and injured around 180 at the marathon on Monday, were packed in pressure cookers.
It is "incredible ... (how) violent" society has become, Blatter said.
"The only thing ... (to be done) is for every precaution to be taken to ensure the safety of sporting events," he stressed.
Blatter met with Cuban sports authorities. While it is an Olympic contender punching above its weight class in sports such as athletics and boxing, Cuba so far has not become a football power.
Blatter has written to the mayor of Boston expressing "deepest anger and distress at the cruel bombings" at the city's marathon.
He wrote to Thomas M. Menino condemning the "cowardly actions, which are not only an attack on the citizens of Boston, but also on sport itself and its ethics of discipline, respect and fair play."
FIFA published extracts from the letter — also sent to Thomas Grilk, the executive director of the Boston Athletic Commission — on its website Wednesday.
Source: Agence France Presse, Associated Press
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