Zurich - FIFA president Joseph Blatter called Monday for professional referees as a measure to protect football from the threat of match-fixing.

Blatter told a congress of football's world governing body in Zurich on sport betting that there appeared to "no limits" on what people were prepared to bet.

In reference to a recent match-fixing scandal in Germany which led to the jailing of a former referee, Blatter said there were still no professional referees in the Bundesliga.

"Nobody can say that the money is not there. We have to protect those who could be or already are the targets of such methods," he said.

Johannesburg - FIFA president Joseph Blatter got into the swing of things Wednesday, clicking his heels in a little dance as he expressed satisfaction with South Africa's preparations for the 2010 World Cup.

"I am a happy man," Blatter said after visiting Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg, one of two stadiums in the city being upgraded for the tournament.

Expressing his pleasure at being in South Africa, the head of football's world governing body said: "I prefer the rhythm of this country.

"You know in Zurich (FIFA headquarters) we are in the German part of Switzerland. This is boring, boring!"