Blatter Says He Met U.S. Lawyers, But Was Not Suspect In Corruption Investigations

Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter said on Friday that he had met lawyers from the U.S. Justice Department but was "not a suspect" in their football-related corruption investigations, according to Brian Homewood of REUTERS. The 81-year-old said that "he had met the U.S. lawyers in October or November, without going into further details." Several dozen football officials, including some from FIFA, were indicted in the U.S. in '15 on "corruption-related" charges. Blatter was not among them, although he subsequently said that his lawyer had "advised him not to travel abroad." Blatter and ex-UEFA President Michel Platini were "banned from all football-related activities" in '15, initially for eight years, over a $2M payment FIFA made to Platini in '11, with Blatter's approval, "for work done a decade earlier." Blatter said on Friday that he had become a "punching bag" for all of FIFA's problems but that he was "still generally liked by his Swiss compatriots" (REUTERS, 4/21).