Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini under investigation by FIFA’s ethics committee – More juice for the Ben Affleck & Matt Damon’s new movie?
Soccer News: FIFA’s ethics committee is investigating both Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter following the Swiss attorney general’s decision to launch criminal proceedings against the FIFA president.
It is understood the ethics committee is looking into the circumstances of a 2 million Swiss franc (£1.35 million) payment that UEFA president Platini received in 2011 for work said to have been carried out more than nine years previously. The ethics committee has the power to order suspensions by neither has been so far.
Swiss prosecutors opened criminal proceedings against Blatter on Friday and Platini – who worked as Blatter’s technical advisor between 1999 and 2002 – was interviewed as a witness by officers from the attorney general’s office. Platini has yet to explain the nine-year delay in payment but both strenuously deny any wrongdoing.
FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali of Jordan, Platini’s rival for the forthcoming presidential election, said the world governing body has been “shaken to its very core” by the recent scandals.
“United Passions” is the upcoming actor-director Ben Affleck and actor Matt Damon feature film about FIFA’s corruption scandal that is still rocking world soccer. Will these new proceedings against Blatter make it into the final film? Hollywood has not commented on the latest investigations but the scandal keeps popping up in headlines around the world.
What is FIFA? Four letters than now stand for scandalous, corrupt officials who govern the world of soccer or something more? While devout soccer fans around the planet revere FIFA and have long suspected foul play – most Americans are unsure what these capital letters really mean.
The Swiss attorney general said Blatter is suspected of criminal mismanagement or misappropriation over a TV rights deal he signed with former Caribbean football chief Jack Warner in 2005. Blatter signed a contract for World Cup TV rights with the Caribbean Football Union, controlled by Warner. Warner’s company later sold the rights on for an £11 million profit.
Prince Ali said: “The need for new leadership that can restore the credibility of FIFA has never been more apparent. We cannot change the past, but we can have a future where FIFA member associations are able to focus on football rather than worrying about the next scandal or criminal investigation involving FIFA leadership.
“We have to accept that changing FIFA is not a matter of choice; it has already changed, shaken to its very core by the scandals that have decimated our governing body and cast a cloud over the entire organisation.”
The chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, Gordon Taylor, has said FIFA is not fit for practice, insisting “if it was a school, it would be under special measures”.
Taylor told Sky Sports News: “This just shows that football might be the best game in the world but the governance is one of the worst. If it was a school it would be under special measures.”
“It’s not fit for practice at the moment. The biggest and best game in the world deserves better – and it’s got to do better. There are enough ethical people out there to make sure the job’s done properly.”
“We need to look at the people, transparency and governance. It needs a whole new broom from top to bottom.”
Blatter’s American lawyer Richard Cullen has insisted “no mismanagement” had occurred and that “Because of the continuing investigation President Blatter will answer no further questions at this time.”
Cullen said in a statement: “Mr Blatter is co-operating and we are confident that when the Swiss authorities have a chance to review the documents and the evidence they will see that the contract was properly prepared and negotiated by the appropriate staff members of FIFA who were routinely responsible for such contracts, and certainly no mismanagement occurred.”
Platini said he had clarified matters about the payment with the Swiss authorities after being interviewed as a witness.
The Frenchman said: “Regarding the payment that was made to me, I wish to state that this amount relates to work which I carried out under a contract with FIFA and I was pleased to have been able to clarify all matters relating to this with the authorities.”
FIFA has rocked our world soccer and many soccer professionals have spoken out in response – and the story keeps unfolding revealing new depths of corruption. We can’t wait to see the movie.
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