Blatter scores a win in FIFA criminal case

GENEVA — In a legal victory for former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, federal prosecutors in Switzerland plan to drop one of two cases open against him for suspected criminal mismanagement.

The Swiss attorney general’s office on Saturday confirmed reports it intends to close an investigation into how Blatter and soccer governing body FIFA awarded World Cup broadcast rights in the Caribbean in 2005.

The decision is the latest example in recent weeks of the Swiss FIFA cases stalling, while the separate and cooperating American investigation sparked back to life with new indictments and fresh allegations of World Cup bid bribery.

The criminal proceeding against Blatter was opened five years ago and helped remove him from the presidential office he held for more than 17 years. He is serving a six-year FIFA ban from soccer.

A second criminal proceeding against Blatter — for a $2 million payment he authorized to FIFA Vice President Michel Platini in 2011 for uncontracted salary — remains open, the Swiss prosecution office said.

Prosecutors said in a statement they could not give a timetable for formally terminating the Caribbean investigation.

A spokesman for Blatter was contacted for comment.

The investigation was opened in September 2015 after a Swiss broadcaster published a 10-year-old FIFA contract awarding the Caribbean Football Union regional broadcast rights to the 2010 and 2014 World Cups for a combined $600,000. The CFU was controlled by Jack Warner, the now-disgraced former FIFA vice president. The rights were sold to a Jamaica-based broadcaster for a profit reportedly close to $20 million.

Colleges:

Mississippi State hired former Old Dominion women’s basketball coach Nikki McCray-Penson to replace Vic Schaefer as Bulldogs head coach.

McCray-Penson, a former Tennessee star and Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer, said it’s been a dream to coach in the Southeastern Conference and she’s “grateful and blessed for this incredible honor and opportunity.”

Racing:

IndyCar’s virtual return to Michigan International Speedway ended with a win for reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud. Michigan marked the first oval track on IndyCar’s virtual schedule. IndyCar has not actually raced at Michigan since 2007. Only five of the drivers in the virtual return had ever raced the track.

Soccer:

The coronavirus pandemic has strained relationships between the Spanish soccer federation, the Spanish league and the Spanish players union even more. They have been at odds over a variety of subjects in recent years, and the disputes have continued during the pandemic despite their calls for unity.

The last few weeks alone have seen several spats. The latest clash involved discussions by a commission that monitors how COVID-19 has been affecting Spanish soccer. The Spanish league runs the top two soccer divisions in the country, while the federation controls regulations and matches for professional and amateur games.

After the end of a meeting this week, the federation put out a statement saying it would not accept teams playing games less than 72 hours apart when competitions resume following the pandemic, and that it opposed an alleged agreement between the players union and the league to play matches 48 hours apart in order to complete the disrupted season.