FIFA President Sepp Blatter "defiantly" told FIFA staff that he has done nothing illegal and will not quit his post "despite a Swiss investigation into his dealings with other officials," according to Tariq Panja of BLOOMBERG. In an e-mail from his attorneys, Blatter "informed the staff that he was cooperating with the authorities, reiterated that he had done nothing illegal or improper and stated that he would remain as president." Switzerland’s attorney general said Friday that "he is looking into suspected criminal mismanagement and misappropriation by Blatter." The probe "jeopardizes Blatter’s plan to remain until a new chief is elected in February," and also may derail UEFA President Michel Platini’s run to succeed Blatter. Both men "were questioned Friday." Platini Monday wrote to European football governing bodies, saying that he has not "been accused of any wrongdoing" (BLOOMBERG, 9/28). The AP's Rob Harris wrote Platini did not address "why there was a nine-year gap between carrying out his work and receiving the payment." Platini "became a FIFA adviser after running the 1998 World Cup in France until 2002 when he joined FIFA's executive committee." Platini said in a letter, "It was a full-time job and my functions were known by all. The remuneration was agreed at the time and after the initial payments were made, the final outstanding amount of 2 million Swiss Francs was paid in February of 2011. The income has all been fully declared by me to the authorities, in accordance with Swiss law." The Scottish FA "wants answers" about why Platini was paid "so long after the work was carried out." SFA CEO Stewart Regan, responding to the letter on Twitter, said, "It is an essential piece of information that still needs to be provided" (AP, 9/28). The London GUARDIAN reported campaigners said that the timing on the payment in February '11 "needs to be explained." At the time, Blatter "was facing a challenge to his presidency from Mohamed Bin Hammam and less than two months later UEFA declared its support for the incumbent president." Damian Collins, the MP who founded the campaign group New FIFA Now, said that "there are key questions" that FIFA and Platini need to answer. He said, "If Michel Platini is not able to clarify matters relating to his contract with FIFA and why he received such a large payment in 2011 for work he had supposedly completed nine years before, he should withdraw from the forthcoming FIFA presidential election" (GUARDIAN, 9/28).
UNEXPECTED RAID: REUTERS' Mark Hosenball wrote according to a person with knowledge of Friday’s events, the team of around 15 officials, including prosecutors and Swiss police, "arrived to search Blatter’s office while he was attending a meeting of FIFA’s ruling executive committee." The prosecutors "waited until the meeting had ended before approaching the 79-year-old FIFA boss and taking him quietly to a conference room near his office, where they told him he was under a criminal probe and interviewed him for several hours." A FIFA source said that although Blatter "was not expecting the raid, some within FIFA had been told something was coming." Until last week, all the charges against FIFA and football marketing officials had come from the U.S., "which has expansive and extraterritorial anti-racketeering laws." But the Swiss authorities had made clear they were investigating money laundering and "disloyal management" by persons connected to FIFA, as well as possible irregularities in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup awards (REUTERS, 9/28).
BLATTER UNLEASHED: ESPN's Stephan Uersfeld wrote former FIFA Independent Governance Committee Chair Mark Pieth urged FIFA to appoint former German Football Federation (DFB) President Theo Zwanziger "as its temporary president amid the ongoing corruption scandal." Pieth, who worked for FIFA from '11 until his resignation in '13, "wants Zwanziger to lead world football's governing body for a two-year period." Pieth, speaking to Swiss newspaper Sonntagsblick, said the reforms that Blatter had "unleashed himself" to clean up FIFA had sparked a "revolution" and added, "Now the revolution devours all its children." He "urged Blatter to vacate his position now." According to FIFA statutes, Confederation of African Football President Issa Hayatou, who has been mentioned in the investigations surrounding the controversial vote to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, "would then succeed Blatter." However, Pieth, a 62-year-old law professor, said, "That's a problem. Blatter's statutory successor might also be stuck with investigations. That's why it would be important to elect a transitional president fast" (ESPN, 9/28).
PLATINI'S HOPES DERAILED: TIMES LIVE reported FIFA's own ethics committee -- "which includes an investigative arm and a branch responsible for judgement -- could prompt Blatter's suspension regardless of whether the Swiss attorney general ultimately files charges against him." The increasingly powerful committee "could also derail" Platini's hopes of succeeding Blatter, making the panel a "crucial body to watch" amid the multiple and expanding crises "shaking world football." FIFA's ethics committee changed significantly in '12, "when it gained the right to open inquiries without approval from the secretary general." A former high-level FIFA official, who requested anonymity, said, "This was a fundamental modification that strongly reinforced its independence." Committee spokesperson Andreas Bantel would not comment on specifics related to Blatter or Platini over the weekend, but said the panel initiates a probe "if there is an initial suspicion," underscoring that this applied to all FIFA officials, regardless of rank. An inquiry by the ethics committee "would not automatically trigger Blatter's suspension, but, with the long-serving president having already committed to leaving in February, the pressure for him to stand aside could rise to unprecedented levels." Platini had been the favorite to succeed Blatter, but former FIFA insiders have said that "being the subject of an open ethics probe could make it impossible for him to win the presidency" (TIMES LIVE, 9/28). REUTERS' Evans, Homewood & Graff wrote bookmakers lengthened the odds that Platini will succeed Blatter as head of FIFA, "after Swiss prosecutors said they were investigating Blatter over a payment to Platini." Platini "had been odds-on favourite to be elected to succeed Blatter." However, bookmaker William Hill said that "it had lengthened its odds on Platini getting the job to 11/10 from 1/3." According to Ladbrokes, another British bookmaker, the new odds-on favorite is Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, brother of Jordan's King Abdullah. Ladbrokes was now quoting him at 4/7, suggesting a 64% chance that Prince Ali "will win the job," up from just a 25% chance last week (REUTERS, 9/27).
