Sepp-tic: FIFA’s Blatter ‘to be provisionally suspended’

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been recommended for provisional suspension by the organisation’s ethics committee, according to a close friend. The suspension has to be confirmed by German Judge Hans Joachim Eckhert, chairman of the Ethics Committee’s adjudicatory chamber. The ethics committee met this week after the Swiss attorney general opened criminal proceedings against Mr Blatter over a £1.3m payment to UEFA President Michel Platini. Klaus Stoehlker, who has advised Mr Blatter in the past, says the committee made the ruling pending further investigations by the authorities.

Is it the endgame? I don’t know yet. But I think it’s good news in the sense that the pressure’s now come on.

Richard Cable, former sports minister

The announcement comes just hours after Mr Blatter criticised the criminal investigation against him in Switzerland, describing it as “outrageous”. He also defended his decision to remain as head of the football organising body and not step down immediately, as worldwide sponsors have urged. Mr Blatter is suspected of “criminal mismanagement or misappropriation” and his office has been searched. The allegations relate to suspicion over a “disloyal payment” of 2m Swiss francs (£1.3m) to UEFA boss Michel Platini, which was “allegedly made for work performed between January 1999 and June 2002”.

Sports Blatter