By Andrew Warshaw
November 17 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, his would-be successor, face being banned for several years before Christmas whether or not they successfully appeal against their current provisional suspensions.
Insideworldfootball understands that FIFA investigators are close to completing their inquiries and recommending stringent sanctions over the SFr2 million “disloyal payment” made to Platini in 2011 for consultancy work he carried out on behalf of Blatter nine years earlier.
Last week, Blatter, who is determined to clear his name in time to hand over to his successor on February 26, was discharged from hospital after being treated for stress. The 79-year-old is under formal criminal investigation by the Swiss justice authorities.
Both Blatter and Platini, the UEFA president, are appealing against their 90-day suspensions which can technically be extended by an additional 45 days. It is believed ethics officials are keen to wrap up the case as quickly as possible rather than invoke the extra period in order to try and avoid proceedings dragging on until just days before the election.
It is therefore planned for the files on Blatter and Platini to be handed over by the end of November to FIFA’s German ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, giving him another month to hear from all parties before delivering his sentence – likely to be a ban of several years based on past cases.
“The 90-day decision was just a provisionary measure,” said one reliable ethics source. “The final decision will be based on a full investigation and far more detailed documentation. Ideally we are trying to reach a conclusion by Christmas, when everyone goes on holiday, so that we can have a clear situation well before the electoral Congress.”
The case against Blatter and Platini, who had an oral contract – binding in Switzerland – is based partly on conflict of interest. That was the same breach cited in the seven-year ban meted out in July to Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the Chilean who headed the 2018 and 2022 World Cup inspection team, and to South Korea’s former FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon who was banned for six years last month and saw his own hopes of replacing Blatter scuppered.
“This should give you some kind of idea about how long any ban might be,” said the afore-mentioned source. “But it could be even longer for Blatter and Platini if the suspicion of falsification of accounts is proved. That’s criminal behaviour in Switzerland.”
Last month, Domenico Scala, the increasingly influential official who has the ultimate say in who can and can’t run for FIFA president, told the Financial Times that the non-declaration of the notorious payment was a “serious omission”. ”The key points are a conflict of interest and the non-accrual of the 2 million in FIFA’s accounts,” said Scala. “Both parties admit an agreement over the 2 million, but that amount was never recorded in FIFA’s account until the payment occurred.”
Any further punishment imposed on Blatter and Platini can also of course be legally challenged but time may not be on their side.
“It’s far harder to win an appeal when an investigation is complete, all the information has been analysed and a final verdict has been reached,” said another ethics insider. “That’s very different to appealing against a provisional suspension.”
Platini’s candidacy is currently on hold and has not yet gone through the required integrity checks pending whether he ends up being cleared. But it looks increasingly likely his presidential ambitions will end in failure, plunging the Frenchman, regarded before his suspension as odds-on favourite to take over from Blatter, into the political wilderness and leaving a massive void at the helm of European football’s governing body.
UEFA hold their next executive meeting on December 11, 24 hours before the draw for next summer’s European Championship finals. While much of the discussion seems bound to focus on security in the wake of the Paris terrorist attack, members could also be forced into addressing how to prepare for Platini’s successor if he has to relinquish the UEFA presidency.
As things stand, next year’s UEFA congress is scheduled for March in Budapest but that could theoretically be postponed and replaced with a later electoral congress to give prospective candidates time to campaign. Alternatively, a second congress, purely to replace Platini, could be added to the calendar.
Meanwhile, despite being suspended, Platini turned up at UEFA headquarters yesterday to pay his respects to those killed in the Paris bombings.
“Mr Platini came to UEFA to attend a minute of silence to pay respect to the persons affected by the tragic event of last Friday in Paris,” UEFA said in a statement. “He was there in a personal capacity and was not exercising any football-related activity. We therefore do not see any reason why this would be in breach of the provisional ban imposed on him.”
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