85-year-old rumbles about judgment: FIFA extends suspension of ex-boss Blatter


85-year-old rumbles about judgment
FIFA extends suspension of ex-boss Blatter

Ex-FIFA President Joseph Blatter has not even served his current sentence, then comes the next one: The Swiss will not be allowed to hold an office in football for another seven years. The 85-year-old meanwhile railed against an alleged “sham justice”.

The bans against the former FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter and the former General Secretary Jerome Valcke have been extended by the adjudicatory chamber of the ethics committee of the world football association. As announced by FIFA, the two ex-officials will be banned from all football-related activities for a further six years and eight months due to various violations.

The investigation focused in particular on bonus payments in connection with FIFA competitions that were made to senior FIFA officials, various changes and the extension of employment contracts and the reimbursement of private legal fees by FIFA in the case of Valcke. In addition, a fine of one million Swiss francs was imposed on each of them.

The 85-year-old Blatter, who is recovering after health problems in a rehabilitation clinic, was taken by surprise by the decision and described it as a “painful and incomprehensible blow in the neck. The ethics committee in its current form has nothing to do with an independent body – it is much more the extended arm of the FIFA President (Gianni Infantino, editor’s note) and not much more than a pseudo-judiciary, “he said at the request of the sports information service.

Blatter and Valcke, who was considered the right hand of the former head of the world association, are currently serving sentences from FIFA anyway. The ban on Blatter from 2015 runs for a total of six years and ends on October 8th, Valcke’s ten-year ban is valid until 2025. The new sanctions will only come into force after the previous one has expired.

In 2015, Blatter and Michel Platini, once President of the European Football Union (UEFA), were initially suspended for eight years, the suspension was then shortened by two years. The focus was on a million dollar payment from FIFA to Platini. Valcke is said to have personally enriched himself by selling tickets for World Cup finals and was initially banned for twelve years. The sentence was also reduced by two years.

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