Fifa president Sepp Blatter was placed under criminal investigation by Swiss authorities yesterday as a probe into corruption reached the highest levels and left his grip on the job in peril.
The Swiss attorney general’s office opened proceedings against Blatter for possible criminal mismanagement and misappropriation of Fifa money. Authorities also searched Blatter’s office and seized data.
The announcements came as Fifa wrapped up a two-day executive committee meeting and marked another stunning day of turmoil for the governing body and Blatter, who have been targeted by American and Swiss investigations into corruption.
Blatter, 79, is set to step down in February as a result of those probes, but formal proceedings against him could lead the Fifa ethics committee to provisionally suspend him from duty.
Blatter’s US-based lawyer, Richard Cullen, said in a statement his client was cooperating and that “certainly no mismanagement occurred”.
The latest allegations also threaten Uefa president Michel Platini, Blatter’s former protege and favourite to succeed him in February’s election. Platini was questioned as a witness yesterday about taking a “disloyal payment” of 2 million Swiss francs (Dh7.5m) of Fifa money in February 2011.
According to Switzerland’s attorney general, the money was supposedly paid nine years later for Platini’s work as Blatter’s football adviser at Fifa from 1999-2002.
Platini clarified in a statement later, saying “Concerning the payment that was effected in my favour, I want to clarify that this amount was paid for work that I carried out in a contractual manner for Fifa.
Under Swiss law, a payment is classified as disloyal if it is against the best interest of the employer – in this case Fifa.
The American probe hit Fifa on May 27, when senior officials suspected of bribery and racketeering were arrested in dawn raids at a luxury Zurich hotel two days before Blatter’s re-election.
Blatter is a stated target of that case but has denied being corrupt, blaming individuals who are outside of Fifa’s control
But the Swiss allegations suggest authorities suspect Blatter of criminal mismanagement of Fifa money to shore up his own power base, if not taking money himself.
Blatter was set to hold a news conference after the executive committee meeting, but it was first postponed and then suddenly called off.
2022 World Cup dates
Among the decisions of the executive committee meeting announced through a press release, Fifa said the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be played over 28 days, starting on November 21 and ending on December 18, Qatar’s national holiday.
Blatter is the first person to be formally quizzed as a suspect in the Swiss case, which Fifa instigated last November when it complained about possible money-laundering in the 2018-2022 World Cup bidding contests won by Russia and Qatar.
His right-hand man, secretary general Jerome Valcke, was suspended last week after being implicated in a scheme to sell tickets for the 2014 World Cup on the black market.
Yesterday’s allegations also relate to undervalued World Cup broadcasting contracts for the Caribbean that Blatter agreed to with disgraced former Fifa vice president Jack Warner in 2005.