Swiss police probing FIFA head Blatter

ZURICH (AP) — FIFA President Sepp Blatter was interrogated by Swiss federal police on Friday and faces criminal charges over alleged financial corruption.

Switzerland’s attorney general’s office said Friday it opened criminal proceedings against Blatter for possible criminal mismanagement and misappropriation of FIFA money.

The Swiss federal prosecutor’s office also said Blatter’s office was searched and data was seized.

FIFA vice president Michel Platini was also questioned as a witness over a “disloyal payment” of 2 million Swiss francs he received from Blatter in February 2011, Swiss authorities say. Under Swiss law, a payment is classified disloyal if it is against the best interest of the employer — in this case FIFA.

Platini, who is the favorite to succeed the outgoing Blatter as FIFA president next February, was a personal adviser to his former mentor when he started out in football politics.

The payment by Blatter from FIFA funds was “allegedly made for work performed between January 1999 and June 2002,” the attorney general’s office said.

Blatter was interrogated after chairing a meeting of FIFA’s executive committee.

The 79-year-old Swiss had been set to hold a news conference for international media after the meeting, but it was first postponed and then suddenly cancelled.

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.

The allegations Friday also relate to World Cup broadcasting contracts Blatter agreed to with disgraced former FIFA vice president Jack Warner in 2005.

“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,” the Swiss federal office said.

In May Blatter helped prevent a Palestinian motion to have the Israeli soccer federation suspended from international football.

The motion, brought to FIFA by the Palestinian delegation and citing travel restrictions Israel has placed on some players and the participation of West Bank settlers in Israel’s own soccer federation, called for the severing of Israeli soccer clubs’ access to the global soccer body. If passed, it would have effectively have left Israel unable to participate in international soccer.

However, the Palestinians dropped the action amid pressure from dozens of national delegates. Blatter helped mediate between the sides. Afterwards he hailed the fact that “solidarity” had prevailed.

During a visit to Israel Blatter told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “football is nowadays such a strong, strong organization that we should go into a peace situation and not into a fighting situation, and football shall connect people and not divide people.”

Blatter had called a potential successful vote on the Palestinian motion a “dangerous” precedent that could get FIFA involved in other political and diplomatic battles.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.