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Blatter loses appeal over FIFA suspension

Blatter vowed to fight on at a court appearance in the summer Keystone

The disgraced former head of football’s world governing body, Sepp Blatter, has lost his latest appeal to have his ban from football overturned.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne said on Monday it was upholding a decision to suspend Blatter for six years.

The 80-year-old Swiss was given the temporary ban last year after a string of corruption allegations.

FIFA’s ethics committee first banned Blatter for eight years in December 2015, before the time was reduced to six. He was suspended over authorising a $2 million (CHF2 million) payment to former FIFA vice-president Michel Platini in 2011. They claimed it was for backdated and uncontracted work Platini did in advising Blatter from 1999 to 2002.

In a statement on Monday the court said Blatter had “breached the FIFA code of ethics since the payment amounted to an undue gift as it had no contractual basis”.

It continued that the former football boss had “unlawfully awarded contributions to Mr Platini under the FIFA Executive Committee retirement scheme which also amounted to an undue gift”.

Additional probe

Blatter had been in charge of FIFA for 17 years until his resignation in June 2015. His eventual suspension meant he was not allowed to be involved in any football-related activities.

Blatter is also the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Swiss Attorney General’s office, which opened criminal proceedings against him in September last year. The probe centres on a suspicion of criminal mismanagement and misappropriation, regarding television broadcasting rights sold in 2005 for the World Cups in South Africa and Brazil.

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