The evidence will determine the outcome

Fifa president Sepp Blatter has presented his case to the governing body’s ethics committee against his suspension with, he says, evidence that the £1.3m payment he made to Michel Platigny was all above board. The payment is the subject of criminal proceedings against him too but Mr Blatter’s lawyer says that the evidence they presented demonstrates that Mr Blatter acted properly and did not violate Fifa’s code of ethics.

It appears that both Mr Blatter and Mr Platigny are ready to exhaust all legal avenues to clear their names, including going beyond the Court of Arbitration for Sport and even to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). However, while he has the personal endorsement of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Blatter is faring less well at home, as the Swiss Ministry of Justice announced this week that it has frozen bank accounts containing tens of millions of Swiss francs relating to FIFA in response to a request from US investigators. Meanwhile, German prosecutors have also asked Switzerland to investigate a ‘suspicious payment’ linked to their country’s hosting of the 2006 World Cup.

No doubt, as far as Mr Blatter is concerned, the evidence he put before the committee will prove that the case against him is unfounded. He will have employed forensic accountants to find documentation to back this up and will find out before Christmas what the verdict is.  

However, forensic investigators employed by the US and Germany in the criminal case will draw their own conclusions after a thorough examination of bank and other data.

Author: Roger Isaacs, 18 December 2015

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