Suspended FIFA President Sepp Blatter, his world football federation "mired in a corruption crisis," is recovering in hospital after a health scare "but should be discharged soon, a confidant said on Wednesday," according to Brian Homewood of REUTERS. Former Blatter adviser and confidant Klaus Stöhlker said that Blatter "still considers himself FIFA president" -- a position he was first elected to in '98. He said, "I think his personal condition is fine, he will relax for a few days more, and then I think perhaps over the weekend, or on Monday, (he will leave hospital). When I phoned him in the hospital this morning, we had a nice chat ... he seemed relaxed, he said his brain and heart are working." Stöhlker said that Blatter "had felt faint at an event in his native canton of Valais" and "felt that his body was not working as it should be." He had received "many visitors, but I am not allowed to give names because it is also highly political" (REUTERS, 11/11). The BBC reported Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini were given 90-day bans by FIFA's ethics committee. Blatter is reported to be "fully fighting against the ethics committee decision" and has told friends "no committee can put me out of the game." An aide, Walter Gagg, said that Blatter hoped to host the Ballon d'Or award ceremony in Zurich on Jan. 11 after the suspension expires (BBC, 11/11).
POLICE RAID MALTA FA: In Valletta, Keith Micallef reported police have raided the offices of the Malta FA in connection with allegations that Germany secured the right to host the 2006 World Cup after "paying bribes" to FIFA members. When asked for a comment, MFA General Secretary Bjorn Vassallo on Tuesday confirmed that, last Monday, officers from the Economic Crimes Unit "searched through the archives" of the association’s Ta’ Qali HQ for "any documents that might throw light on this scandal" (TIMES OF MALTA, 11/11). MALTA TODAY reported the investigation comes after police commissioner Michael Cassar "failed to answer" questions as to why the police have "never investigated allegations" that former MFA President Joe Mifsud had "misappropriated funds linked to a friendly match" between Bayern Munich and the Maltese national team. Earlier this month, the government and police reportedly "refused to commit into launching an investigation into a controversial contract" that saw the MFA earn $250,000 in exchange for the national team to play a friendly against Bayern (MALTA TODAY, 11/11).
FIGUEREDO AGREES TO EXTRADITION: REUTERS' John Miller reported ex-FIFA official Eugenio Figueredo has agreed to be extradited to his home country of Uruguay but the U.S. "must approve the move first, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice said on Wednesday." If the U.S. does not agree that former CONMEBOL VP Figueredo be extradited to Uruguay, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice said that it would "decide where he will be sent" (REUTERS, 11/11).
