Sepp Blatter should soon be fixed on the fate reserved for him by Swiss justice, "these coming weeks" according to the prosecution, six years after the opening of the investigation around a suspicious payment which also threatens Michel Platini.
The former boss of Fifa, went every day, since Monday, to the office of the federal prosecutor in Zurich for a hearing of 90 minutes each time. Appointments delayed for several months due to his state of health. He was notably hospitalized in December and January for a major heart operation. The former French boss of European football, Michel Platini, had meanwhile been auditioned long before, mid-March.
As a reminder, justice accuses the former president of Fifa of having paid two million Swiss francs, or 1.8 million euros, to ex-president of UEFA, his ally at the time, without written justification.
The International Football Federation, led since 2016 by Gianni Infantino, specifically deplores the absence of a written contract mentioning such remuneration at the time.
Fifa had suspended Platini from all football-related activity from 2015 to 2019 and is now demanding a refund from him.
According to the prosecutor's office, Michel Platini is being prosecuted for “suspicion of fraud, participation in breach of trust, participation in unfair management and forgery in titles”.
For Sepp Blatter, the criminal proceedings are being conducted for “suspicion of fraud, breach of trust and unfair management”.
Read alsoFootball: new setback for Michel Platini, whose suspension was well "justified"
Both have hammered relentlessly for years that it is a balance of payment for an advisory work carried out by the French in 1999-2002.
According to them, this payment stems from an agreement dating back to the spring of 1998. The Swiss, who joined Fifa in 1975 as director of development, was deprived of sporting legitimacy and was then seeking the support of the former champion, Michel Platini , to take the head of the instance.
And even today, the man, who led world football from 1998 to 2015, reaffirms the legality of this agreement.
He also said in a statement "looking forward and optimistically to this final hearing, with the hope that this story will end soon".
Justice could either pronounce a dismissal, or pave the way for a trial before the Federal Criminal Court of Bellinzona in Switzerland.
