Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards has apologised after claiming that FIFA and UEFA had "stolen" football from England following an unfortunate day in Qatar which ended with him falling face first into a pool.
Richards, who was taken to hospital in Doha for checks after tripping and falling into a fountain pool, made the remarks at a conference on Wednesday - comments which the Premier League and Football Association moved quickly to distance themselves from.
Richards apologised for any offence caused by the remarks at the International Sport Security Conference, saying he had intended to be "lighthearted" and that he would be writing to UEFA and FIFA to make that clear.
He said in a statement: "I would like to apologise for any offence caused. It is important to clarify that I was expressing my personal views and not those of any organisation I represent.
"My comments on the heritage of the game were intended to be light-hearted. They clearly have not come across in that way and I sincerely regret making them and any resulting negativity that may have been interpreted towards FIFA and UEFA. I will be writing to both organisations in these terms."
Richards hurt a leg in his fall and had it looked at before being released from hospital.
Richards had also told conference that Qatar must makes the sale of beer freely available at the 2022 World Cup or face a boycott by fans.
He had earlier raised eyebrows when he told the conference that England had given the world the game of football only to have it "stolen" from them.
He said: "For 50 years, we owned the game, we were the governance of the game. We wrote the rules and designed the pitches.
"Then, 50 years later, some guy came along and said, 'You're liars', and they actually stole it. It was called FIFA. Fifty years later, another gang came along called UEFA and stole a bit more."
Source: PA
