Fifa's executive committee have unanimously opposed the English Premier League's plan for overseas matches.

Sepp Blatter, president of football's world governing body, said even former Football Association chairman Geoff Thompson — now a Fifa vice-president — was in opposition to the '39th step'.

The issue was raised only briefly at today's committee meeting in Zurich but all members opposed it.

Blatter said after the meeting: "This idea for the Premier League to play a 39th round outside country does not work. They would be playing 12 hours away west and east and 24 hours difference in the south.

"Even the former chairman of the FA, Geoff Thompson, said we should oppose it."

Meanwhile, Blatter has insisted he will wait until the outcome of a corruption court case before commenting on allegations that a senior football figure received bribes.

Nicolas Leoz, the president of South American football and a member of Fifa's executive committee, has been named in court documents in the case in Zug, Switzerland, as having been paid £65,000 in backhanders by officials from Fifa's former marketing agency ISL.

Six ISL employees face charges but neither Leoz nor any other Fifa official is in the dock.