Deposed Fifa president Sepp Blatter has claimed some draws for European football competitions were fixed using “hot and cold balls” but insisted it never happened on his watch in Zürich.

The disgraced Swiss is currently in the process of appealing his six-year ban from football through the court of arbitration for sport after being implicated in a wide-ranging probe into corruption during his 18-year tenure at Fifa.

While Blatter did not elaborate on which draws were allegedly interfered with, he claimed balls containing team names were cooled to make identification possible when being picked out.

During an interview with Argentine newspaper La Nacion, Blatter said rigging fixtures “can be done” in a statement which places yet further scrutiny on the practises of those who have held office at both European and world level.

“I never touched the balls," he said. “Of course, you can mark them [by] heating them or cooling them. I witnessed draws at the European level where that happened. But never at Fifa. Of course it can be done.

“You put the balls in the refrigerator beforehand. Just by comparing one and the other when you touch them you can tell the cold balls from the hot. When you touch them, you know what they are.”

Sepp Blatter gaffes and outbursts Show all 10 1 /10 Sepp Blatter gaffes and outbursts Sepp Blatter gaffes and outbursts blatter4.jpg Blatter's latest remarks, which have been met with widespread condemnation: "I would deny it. There is no racism, there is maybe one of the players towards another, he has a word or a gesture which is not the correct one, but also the one who is effected by that, he should say that this is a game. We are in a game, and at the end of the game, we shake hands, and this can happen, because we have worked so hard against racism and discrimination. I think the whole world is aware of the efforts we are making against racism and discrimination. And, on the field of play sometimes you say something that is not very correct, but then at the end of the game, the game is over and you have the next game where you can behave better." GETTY IMAGES Sepp Blatter gaffes and outbursts blatter3.jpg Sepp Blatter was forced to apologise in December last year after he said gay football fans travelling to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup should "refrain from sexual activity". Blatter had dished out his advice in a bid to downplay the fact that homosexuality is illegal in Qatar. GETTY IMAGES Sepp Blatter gaffes and outbursts GETTY IMAGES Sepp Blatter gaffes and outbursts Blatter waded in on the John Terry debate earlier this year, suggesting that maybe England over reacted in stripping him of the captaincy following allegations about his private life. "Listen, this is a special approach in the Anglo-Saxon countries. If this had happened in let's say Latin countries then I think he would have been applauded," said Blatter. GETTY IMAGES Sepp Blatter gaffes and outbursts The Fifa president has regularly spoken out against the English game and what he sees as greed and excess. He accused the Premier League of gorging on the best international talent at the expense of poorer countries around the world: "In France they have an expression '1'appetit vient mangeant' [the appetite comes with eating]. It means when you are at a good table you like to eat more and more and more. And this is the success story of the Premier League." GETTY IMAGES Sepp Blatter gaffes and outbursts Blatter disgusted the football world with disgraceful comments regarding Cristiano Ronaldo. When the now Real Madrid star was negotiating his move away from Manchester United, Blatter declared: "I think in football there's too much modern slavery in transferring players or buying players here and there, and putting them somewhere." The comparison to slavery caused widespread outrage. GETTY IMAGES Sepp Blatter gaffes and outbursts The Fifa president was good enough to explain his master plan on how the women's game can be made more appealing: "Tighter shorts," he suggested. GETTY IMAGES Sepp Blatter gaffes and outbursts Blatter, back at his English bashing best, this time on the subject of employing a foreign manager to lead the national team. "I would say it is a little surprising that the motherland of football has ignored a sacrosanct law or belief that the national team manager should be from the same country as the players," Blatter blasted down a microphone. "I have never seen Italy, Germany, Brazil or Argentina with a coach from another country." GETTY IMAGES Sepp Blatter gaffes and outbursts David Gold, when chairman at Birmingham, branded Blatter as "outrageous" after the Fifa president proffered his thoughts on the Martin Taylor challenge that left Arsenal striker Eduardo with a broken leg: "It is shocking when you see how this player was attacked. It is not football. Football is a contact game but it is a game with rules. You have to have respect and what we witnessed there has nothing to do with football. This is to destroy another player, and that is not the aim of our game." These comments came despite Taylor insisting there was no malice and the Birmingham defender's explanation being widely accepted. GETTY IMAGES Sepp Blatter gaffes and outbursts And finally, follow the link below to see Blatter make a gaffe of the physical kind...



CLICK HERE TO SEE BLATTER GAFFE GETTY IMAGES

The 80-year-old suggested balls were frozen beforehand, making it easy to determine which ones had been tampered with. “Balls are put in the freezer before the draw, at the slightest touch you can tell if the balls are hot or cold. By touching them you know exactly what you have,” he said.

The revelations come as Blatter and two other senior officials were accused by Fifa lawyers of awarding themselves pay rises and bonuses which cost the organisation more than £55m over the course of five years.

Details regarding the contracts of Blatter, sacked secretary general Jérôme Valcke and fired deputy secretary general Markus Kattner alleged the former president received £23.3m between 2011 and 2015, the last five years of his regime. Valcke, his right-hand man, is said to have received £22.9m and Kattner £9.5m.