Blatter faces criminal probe

Zurich

 The Swiss attorney general has opened criminal proceedings against Sepp Blatter in the heart of the Zurich HQ he has dominated as Fifa president for 17 years, as the continuing corruption crisis gripping world football took another dramatic turn.

 The office of the attorney general said in a statement that it had interrogated Blatter following a meeting yesterday of the Fifa executive committee.

 At the same time Michel Platini, the Uefa president who is hoping to replace him next year, was heard “as a person asked to provide information”.

 Fifa HQ was also searched and data seized from Blatter’s office, causing a scheduled press conference to be cancelled amid fevered speculation.

 The office of the Swiss attorney general, Michael Lauber, said: “On the one hand, the OAG suspects that on 12 September 2005 Mr. Joseph Blatter has signed a contract with the Caribbean Football Union [with Jack Warner as the President at this time]; this contract was unfavourable for Fifa. On the other hand, there is as suspicion that, in the implementation of this agreement, Joseph Blatter also violated his fiduciary duties and acted against the interest of Fifa and/or Fifa Marketing & TV AG.”

 That is believed to relate to the television contract unearthed by Swiss broadcasters that showed Blatter had agreed to sell TV rights to the disgraced former Fifa heavyweight Jack Warner at below the market rate.

 “Additionally, Mr. Joseph Blatter is suspected of a disloyal payment of 2m Swiss francs to Michel Platini, president of Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), at the expense of Fifa, which was allegedly made for work performed between January 1999 and June 2002 ; this payment was executed in February 2011.”

 As the net has closed around Blatter, who has refused to travel to any countries with an extradition treaty with the US since the scandal broke, he has cut an increasingly remote figure.

 “As for all defendants, the presumption of innocence applies for Mr Joseph Blatter,” said the Swiss attorney general. Blatter has always denied any wrongdoing.

 His American lawyer Richard Cullen insisted “no mismanagement” had occurred. Cullen said in a statement: “Mr Blatter is co-operating and we are confident that when the Swiss authorities have a chance to review the documents and the evidence they will see that the contract was properly prepared and negotiated by the appropriate staff members of Fifa who were routinely responsible for such contracts, and certainly no mismanagement occurred.