Sepp Blatter Under Investigation by Swiss Authorities: Latest Details, Reaction
FIFA president Sepp Blatter is under investigation by Swiss authorities on grounds of criminal mismanagement and suspicion of misappropriation. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland released a statement to confirm the news on Sept. 25, via Rachel Nichols of CNN:
FIFA released a short response to the news, saying they would cooperate with the investigation without revealing any names, per Foresight News:
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Jamil Chade of Radio Estadao reported Blatter will only be suspended from FIFA if he's indicted. On Monday, Blatter told FIFA staff he had done nothing "illegal or improper" and will continue to serve as president, via Rob Harris of the Associated Press.
Both Richard Conway of BBC 5 Live and Martyn Ziegler of the Press Association confirmed Swiss authorities were moving on the longtime FIFA president on Sept. 25, and it became clear earlier in the day something was going on in Zurich.
FIFA made the move to cancel one of the 79-year-old's press conferences at the last second, and news broke that its upcoming executive committee meeting had been moved from Tokyo to Zurich, per Owen Gibson of the Guardian. Japan has an extradition agreement with the USA, which has been leading the ongoing investigation into FIFA.
According to Conway, American authorities were not involved with the actions that took place on Sept. 25.
FIFA has been the subject of a lengthy investigation by both Swiss and American authorities that resulted in a number of arrests in May, and it has followed football's leading organisation ever since, per the New York Times' Sam Borden.
Despite Blatter leading the organisation for so long, his name has hardly been uttered in the investigation until now.
Blatter has been president of FIFA since 1998, and while the organisation has grown exponentially during his reign, so have suspicions of corruption. As reported by the Independent, a whole list of controversial incidents has led to the ongoing investigation.
Both Jack Warner, the former president of the Caribbean Football Union, and UEFA president Michel Platini are named in the statement released by the Swiss authorities.
