Blatter and Platini Face Probe

 

FIFA president Joseph Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini are under investigation by the ruling body's ethics committee over a payment from 2011 revealed in a Swiss criminal investigation, according to reports.

The committee is looking into a ``disloyal payment’’ of 2 million Swiss francs (dollars) Platini received from FIFA in 2011 for work done between 1999 and 2002.

The issue was revealed in a statement from Switzerland's Attorney General on Friday in which the start of a criminal investigation against Blatter was announced.

Apart apart from the payment the probe involves a contract, likely on TV rights, with the Caribbean football union from 2005.

Blatter was interrogated by Swiss police and the UEFA boss Platini heard as a witness. Platini said there was nothing wrong about the payment.

Blatter's lawyer did not refer to the Platini payment but said the TV deal, which investigators believe was too low and thus denied FIFA higher income, was according to the rules and sanctioned by those routinely involved in such issues.

It is unclear whether Blatter 79, faces a suspension from the ethics committee and he had not resigned by Sunday in spite of widespread calls to do so in the wake of the Swiss probe on suspicion of ``mismanagement - and - alternatively - misappropriation.’’