LONDON/ZURICH: FIFA president Sepp Blatter has written a personal letter to David Cameron to acknowledge the apology the Prime Minister issued on behalf of the British nation to the families of the Hillsborough victims.

Beginning: “Dear David,” Blatter said he was writing immediately after reading the Premier’s statement to the Commons, and hoped “that the findings of the report and your apologies will bring some peace to the still-grieving familes and the people of Liverpool.”

He acknowledged that “the pain of the Hillsborough tragedy will never go away” and thanked those responsible for seeing that justice should be done.

Blatter added: “No football fan should go to a game and not return home. Their safety should always be of paramount importance, somethng which the British football authorities have recognised in the wake of this tragedy in building all-seater stadiums and establishing safety standards that are an example to the world.”

KEIR RADNEDGE

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