Russian President Vladimir Putin used a televised appearance to attack the United States’ FIFA probe Thursday, accusing his rival of trying to wrest away Russia’s 2018 World Cup. He called the U.S.-led probe “odd,” adding that it is “yet another evident attempt to derail Mr. [Sepp] Blatter’s re-election as FIFA president.” The U.S. probe does not currently concern the upcoming soccer tournaments in Russia and Qatar, but Swiss investigators have launched a separate inquiry into that matter. FIFA has said it won’t re-vote on those tournament locations.
