Asian soccer chief Mohamed Bin Hammam was banned for life Saturday after being found guilty by world football's ruling body of trying to buy votes ahead of last month's FIFA presidential election.
Swiss federal prosecutors are targeting former European football head Michel Platini in a widening of their probe into a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.1 million) payment arranged by former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said on Friday. Swiss prosecutors have been probing Blatter over accusations he arranged a payment of two million Swiss francs ($2.06 million) from FIFA to then UEFA president Platini in February 2011.
Blatter, who is currently serving a six-year ban from football-related activities over ethics violations, will not be prosecuted for the matter which relates to selling TV rights for World Cup tournaments too cheaply.
FIFA faces more embarrassment after a member of its financial watchdog was arrested on suspicion of corruption and money-laundering in the Cayman Islands.
Six football officials were arrested in Zurich early upon request from US authorities, suspected of receiving bribes worth millions of dollars, Swiss authorities said.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter, already facing a criminal investigation from Swiss prosecutors, may now come under scrutiny from his organisation's own ethics investigators if they find evidence of potential wrongdoing, according to FIFA's ethics procedure.
A Swiss national who has run soccer's powerful governing body for the past 17 years, 79-year-old FIFA boss Sepp Blatter has now for the first time become the focus of a criminal investigation.
'There is a Jack Warner or two in every Caribbean parliament today.'
Sepp Blatter has not ruled out trying to stay on as FIFA's president beyond February's scheduled election, despite facing a criminal investigation and a possible internal ethics probe.
A member of the financial watchdog committee at soccer's ruling body FIFA has been charged with fraud, money-laundering and breach of trust by police in the Cayman Islands.
The general secretary of the world players' union FIFPro has blasted FIFA.
- 'No independent governance committee, investigator or arbitration panel can change the culture of an organization' - 'FIFA's ethics committee was created to increase the transparency of the organisation, that's what we wanted, but in the end it has just caused more confusion for FIFA'
A source close to FIFA said that as Blatter has not been arrested, charged or indicted, it would probably be for him to decide whether he stays in his post until February, when he is due to step down.
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