Richards launched an outspoken attack at the International Sports Security Conference in Doha.
“England gave the world football. It gave the best legacy anyone could give. We gave them the game,” Richards said. “For 50 years, we owned the game … We were the governance of the game. We wrote the rules, designed the pitches and everything else.
“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.”
