Blatter tries to reverse ban in FIFA appeal
Updated: 2016-02-17 10:25
(Agencies)
|
|||||||||
Zurich (AFP) - FIFA's disgraced president Sepp Blatter returned to the headquarters of world football's governing on body on Tuesday to face an appeals committee he hopes will overturn his eight-year ban from the sport.
|
Sepp Blatter is fighting an eight-year ban from football for ethics violations. [Photo/Agencies] |
Blatter arrived at FIFA's Zurich compound for his 9:00 am (0800 GMT) hearing roughly 90 minutes early, dodging the crowd of reporters that would later assemble outside, according to a FIFA security guard.
Blatter's hearing came a day after Michel Platini, the head of European football who has also been suspended for eight years, met with the same appeals body in a bid to reverse a conviction for ethics violations issued by a FIFA tribunal in December.
Platini, also a FIFA vice president, and Blatter were found to have abused their positions over a mysterious 2 million Swiss franc ($2 million, 1.8 million euros) payment made in 2011.
Both men have argued that the funds paid by Blatter to Platini were part of a legitimate oral contract for consulting work done by Platini a decade earlier, but FIFA's ethics judges dismissed that explanation.
The notorious 2011 payment is also part of a criminal probe by Swiss prosecutors targeting Blatter, in which Platini has been questioned in a capacity that falls between a witness and an accused person.
Platini's arrival at FIFA on Monday was starkly different to that of Blatter's, with the Frenchman walking the final 100 metres (330 feet) to FIFA's gate, sporadically answering questions from reporters.
After a marathon session, Platini said he was "happy" and that his appeal was heard by "sincere" people.
One of two witnesses the ex-Juventus star presented was Frenchman Jacques Lambert, the president of the Euro-2016 organising committee, who purportedly had evidence supporting the existence of the famous oral contract.
Lambert also returned to FIFA on Tuesday, possibly to present similar evidence of behalf of Blatter.
Platini had been the favourite to replace Blatter at FIFA's February 26 presidential vote, but he withdrew from the race after he was banned from football.
If the appeals committee rules in his favour, the Frenchman would reclaim his post as president of European confederation UEFA.
For Blatter, a Swiss national who turns 80 next month, an appeals win could allow him to preside over next week's FIFA congress, where his successor will be chosen.
If their appeals are rejected, both are expected to take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.
Platini and Blatter have been the most high-profile casualties in the unprecedented, wide-ranging scandal that has seen senior football executives suspended or fired, with 39 people indicted for corruption by the United States.
- Chinese military sets up corruption hotline
- Foreigners working in Beijing can now buy apartments immediately
- Thousand-year-old temple seeks new media talents
- First train from China to Iran stimulates Silk Road revival
- Big data for Spring Festival: 8m overseas trips, etc
- Winter swim enthusiasts celebrate the Year of the Monkey
- 'Grim Sleeper' murder trial begins six years after arrest
- Cameron defends EU deal as lawmakers offer no guarantees
- Sarkozy placed under investigation in campaign funding probe
- Moscow dismisses accusation of Russia bombing Syrian hospitals
- 2016 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show held in New York
- Pakistan confirms participation in Saudi-led military drills
- Excitement, charm and grace: Chinese New Year in UK
- Taylor Swift wins Album of the Year at Grammys
- Stars spotted at film academy exam in China
- Record number of Chinese travel abroad for Spring Festival
- Future bodyguards undergo brutal training in Beijing
- Chinese Lunar New Year marked in central London
- Top 10 most difficult cities in China to get a taxi
- Sichuan opera charms British children
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
8 highlights about V-day Parade |
Glimpses of Tibet: Plateaus, people and faith |
Chinese entrepreneurs remain optimistic despite economic downfall |
50th anniversary of Tibet autonomous region |
Tianjin explosions: Deaths, destruction and bravery |
Cinemas enjoy strong first half |
Today's Top News
Will US-ASEAN meeting be good for region?
Accentuate the positive in Sino-US relations
Dangerous games on peninsula will have no winner
National Art Museum showing 400 puppets in new exhibition
Finest Chinese porcelains expected to fetch over $28 million
Monkey portraits by Chinese ink painting masters
Beijing's movie fans in for new experience
Obama to deliver final State of the Union speech
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |