Football’s world governing body FIFA have released a statement to clarify a comment by president Sepp Blatter in an interview earlier today on Swiss television about the 2022 World Cup.

According to the statement, Blatter ”reiterated that the decision to organise the World Cup in summer was an “error” based on the technical assessment report of the bid, which had highlighted the extremely hot temperatures in summer in Qatar.”

FIFA stated further that ”at no stage did [Blatter] question Qatar as hosts of the 2022 FIFA World Cup”, which is what had been widely reported after his interview with Swiss TV station RTS was broadcast.

Controversy has surrounded Qatar since being awarded the 2022 World Cup, from allegations of bribery to issues with the temperature during summer at the Arab nation.

Temperatures in Qatar reach 45° celcius in June, which is when the World Cup usually begins, a fact that has forced FIFA to consider moving the 2022 World Cup schedule from the usual months of June and July to sometime between November and January, which is winter in Qatar.