Blatter to attend World Cup draw in Russia, says Mutko

MOSCOW (Reuters) - FIFA President Sepp Blatter will attend the 2018 World Cup's preliminary draw in St Petersburg on July 25, Russia's Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko was quoted as saying on Thursday. "Sepp will be coming. He confirmed this to me yesterday. He will also meet with the President of Russia," Mutko said in an interview with the newspaper Sport Express. Blatter, 79, said on June 2 he would step down from his post after U.S. and Swiss authorities widened their investigations into bribery and corruption at world soccer's governing body. Blatter has not been charged with any wrongdoing. Swiss authorities are also investigating the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively. (Reporting By Dmitriy Rogovitskiy; Editing by Toby Davis)