AFCON: Hayatou, Blatter criticize media

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has accused the media of dramatising the
crowd violence during Thursday's African Nations Cup
semi-final,AFPreports.
Ghana eventually beat Equatorial Guinea 3-0 but only after the match
was delayed for 30 minutes because of projectiles being hurled from
the crowd and supporters clashing outside the Nuevo Estadio de Malabo.
The Equatorial Guinea football federation – the tournament's hosts –
were fined £65,600 and ordered to pay for the treatment of injured
Ghana supporters, while the Confederation of African Football said 36
Ghana fans were hurt after being attacked by home supporters, with 14
taken to hospital.
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Blatter, standing for a fifth presidential term in May's elections,
told theGuardian, "Good news is no news, bad news is news. We only
talk about the bad. Football – which is such a good thing – let it
live, leave it in peace, it's well organised, let them do it.
"I don't see the negative side of African football that the media
presents. It's normal, we criticise what's good, never what's bad. The
unhappy role of the media is to assume and to forecast.
"In the past, the government made a decision and the media passed it
on. Today, we make decisions and the media have already presented it.
We become slaves to the media who have already given an opinion.
"The media can play a role, must play a role, but they must play a
role where the notions of respect and fair play are the basics. Today
the world opens the newspapers, watches television, and sees only
murders and killing. We never talk about princesses marrying anymore."
CAF had announced a one-match suspended ground closure on Equatorial
Guinea, to be applied had there been further trouble during Saturday's
third-place play-off match against DR Congo.
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