For in an unexpected
move, the world governing body extended the deadline for national team
coaches and captains, as well as participating journalists, to vote for
their top three players of 2013.
The initial date had been
last Friday, just hours after the first legs of the European play-offs
had ended, but the closing date to vote for this year's Ballon d'Or
winner is now November 29.
The reason given for the delay has been the 'low turnout of votes' so far.
With Lionel Messi, who
has won the last four crowns, out injured, Ronaldo will never have a
better chance to impress a panel for an award where form at voting time
often counts as much as previous exploits in the year.
A different side of Cristiano Ronaldo
Fresh from his stunning
hat-trick which fired Portugal to the World Cup when eliminating Sweden
4-2 on aggregate (with Ronaldo scoring all his nation's goals in the
tie), the Real Madrid star may begin to feel that his recent row with
FIFA is beginning to turn his way.
Last month, Blatter was
involved in an extraordinary impersonation of the Portuguese star while
addressing the famous Oxford Union in England, during which he claimed
Ronaldo spent "a lot more at the hairdresser's" than his Barcelona rival
Messi.
Ronaldo swiftly hit back,
writing on his Facebook page how the video showed "the respect and
consideration that FIFA has for me, my club and my country. Much is
explained now."
On Tuesday night,
Blatter -- who has been watching his words carefully since -- was
effusive in his praise for the former Manchester United player's
match-winning display in Sweden.
"Fantastic performance by @Cristiano," the Swiss tweeted.
Hours later, it was
announced that the voting had been extended, meaning Ronaldo's stunning
Solna display can now be taken into account.
Quite what France
international Franck Ribery makes of it all is anyone's guess, with the
Bayern Munich star having been tipped to win the award when voting was
thought to have ended last week.
He is now behind the
Portuguese in the running according to widespread opinion, as is Messi
-- with the Argentinian seemingly a victim of his own staggeringly high
performances of recent years.
Sweden's Zlatan
Ibrahimovic and Brazilian Neymar are outsiders to win the award, with
FIFA having named a 23-man list of players to be considered for the
prize in October.
The three-man shortlist
for the award will be announced next month, with the winner of the 2013
Ballon d'Or set to be unveiled at an awards ceremony in Zurich in
January.
In a separate
development, FIFA announced on Wednesday that "fair working conditions
must be introduced quickly, consistently and on a sustained basis in
Qatar," the 2022 World Cup host nation.
The statement
followed a meeting in Zurich between Blatter and the International
Trade Union Confederation, and came shortly after an Amnesty
International report suggested that worker abuse is rife in Qatar's
construction sector.
In response to Amnesty's
allegations, the director of the Human Rights Department at Qatar's
Foreign Ministry said laws are in place to protect workers from
mistreatment.
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