The Swiss attorney general has announced criminal proceedings have been opened against outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
The
Swiss attorney general's office issued a statement saying Blatter is
suspected of criminal mismanagement or misappropriation over a TV rights
deal he signed with former Caribbean football chief Jack Warner in
2005.
The
79-year-old is also suspected of 'a disloyal payment' of two million
Swiss francs (£1.3 million) to
UEFA president Michel Platini - who is
the favourite to succeed him - in 2011.
French
football legend, Platini, claims the money was paid for work he carried
out under contract for the world football's governing body.
Platini was
questioned as a witness on Friday about taking a 'disloyal payment' of 2
million Swiss francs of FIFA money in February 2011.
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.
Under Swiss law, a payment is classified disloyal if it is against the best interests of the employer - in this case FIFA.
Blatter was interrogated after chairing a meeting of FIFA's executive committee.
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 also
relate to World Cup broadcasting contracts Blatter agreed to with
disgraced former FIFA vice president Jack Warner in 2005
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