JOHANNESBURG: FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Monday said he was saddened by the Uganda bombings that killed 64 people while watching the World Cup final.

"I am very sad. I was really, really touched this morning when I heard about this news," the head of the football governing body told journalists in Johannesburg.

Two bomb attacks ripped through crowds watching the World Cup final in Kampala on Sunday evening, killing 64 and wounding scores in blasts Uganda authorities suspect is the work of Al Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia.

"You can never stop crime, attacks, even when we think that during the World Cup the world should have stopped and should have been touched only by the emotions of the World Cup," said Blatter.

Uganda was not among the African nations who competed in the first World Cup to be held on the continent.

BDST: 1922hrs, July 12, 2010