Blatter wages final FIFA ban appeal

Platini payment was really a debt, says former head of governing body

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter mounted his final appeal on Thursday against his 6- year ban from soccer, in a long- shot quest for redemption after his career ended in scandal.

Blatter was at the world’s top sports court for a one- day hearing seeking to overturn a suspension imposed by FIFA over ethics violations.

“I will accept the verdict,” Blatter, 80, told journalists outside the Court of Arbitration for Sport ( CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“I do hope it will be positive for me, but we are footballers. We learn to win but also we learn to lose,” he said.

The case that triggered Blatter’s downfall first emerged in September of last year, when Swiss prosecutors said they were investigating him over a suspect 2 million Swiss franc ($ 2 million) payment he authorized in 2011 to his one- time heir apparent Michel Platini.

Platini, the former head of European soccer, was also sanctioned by FIFA over the funds.

The Frenchman lost his CAS appeal in a May verdict that likely diminishes Blatter’s hopes of victory.

Speaking to reporters before appearing to give evidence at the closed- door hearing, Platini said Blatter’s fate may already be sealed.

“I’m not sure if a decision hasn’t already been made,” he said, pledging to tell the truth about the infamous payment “for the umpteenth time.”

CAS Secretary- General Matthieu Reeb said the hearing may not wrap up until 7: 00 pm ( 17: 00 GMT), citing delays. A decision may take several weeks.

Blatter arrived at the treelined courthouse in a black Mercedes Sedan and flanked by his Zurich- based lawyer Lorenz Erni.

Restating a justification for the Platini payment he has made repeatedly over the last year, Blatter insisted FIFA owed money to the ex- Juventus star.

Platini had been hired by FIFA as a consultant from 1999 to 2002 and had apparently not received his full compensation.

“I am sure, at the end ... that the panel will understand that the payment made to Platini was really a debt that we had” with him, Blatter said Thursday.

“This is a principle: If you have debts you pay them.”

FIFA’s ethics committee was not convinced by the explanation, banning both Blatter and Platini for eight years in December. Those suspensions were however cut to six years on appeal in February.

CAS however judged FIFA’s sanctions against Platini “too severe” and trimmed his suspension to four years.

That outcome would likely offer little comfort to the aging Blatter, whose fourdecade career as a soccer broker is likely over.

Separate from Thursday’s appeal, Blatter is also the target of a criminal investigation by Swiss prosecutors over the Platini payment and alleged mismanagement during his 17- year tenure as FIFA president.

He was replaced in that job by fellow Swiss national and former UEFA No. 2 Gianni Infantino in February.

An investigation commissioned by Infantino’s administration also accused Blatter and two top deputies – Jerome Valcke and Markus Kattner – of awarding themselves nearly $ 80 million worth of improper salary increases and bonuses during their final five years in office.