Suspended FIFA Chief Claims Ethics Committee Dropped Corruption Charges

Suspended FIFA President Joseph Blatter claimed that the football governing body’s ethics committee had dropped corruption charges against him.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Last week, Blatter had a hearing with Ethics Committee chairman Hans-Joachim Eckert.

"The judge told me at the start ‘the corruption charges have been withdrawn’," Blatter told the Blick newspaper on Sunday, as quoted by the Independent newspaper.

On Monday, Blatter and suspended UEFA chief Michel Platini will find out what punishment they are facing, if any.

In May, the US Justice Department charged nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives with allegedly receiving some $150 billion in bribes. The same month, Switzerland opened an investigation into the FIFA bidding process for the World Cup championships in 2018 and 2022.

In late September, the Swiss Office of the Attorney General launched a probe into corruption claims against Blatter. His is suspected of making a "disloyal payment" of $2.05 million to Platini in 2011 at the expense of FIFA, for work allegedly performed during the period 1999-2002.

Blatter and Platini told investigators the payment was legal, but the committee provisionally suspended both last month.