Blatter’s 'Disloyal' Payment to UEFA’s Platini Not Documented

A payment by Joseph Blatter to the Michel Platini for work allegedly performed in 1999-2002 reportedly was not documented.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A $2.05-million payment by FIFA President Joseph Blatter to UEFA President Michel Platini for work allegedly performed in 1999-2002 was not documented in any written contract, which gave occasion to launch legal proceedings, The Guardian reported Sunday, citing sources with knowledge of the payment.

On Thursday, the FIFA ethics committee suspended Blatter for 90 days on corruption claims over alleged signing of an "unfavorable" contract and making a "disloyal payment" to Platini in 2011 at the expense of FIFA. The UEFA president received a provisional ban as well.

Blatter and Platini told investigators the payment was legal and compensated Platini’s work as the FIFA president’s adviser for four years, as the organization could not pay the salary earlier due to "the financial situation at the time", according to the newspaper.

Under Swiss law, a worker is given five years to claim the money owed by the employer, which makes FIFA’s payment to Platini in 2011 overdue.

In addition to the alleged oral agreement, Platini also had a regular employment agreement with FIFA, which earned him $1.09 million for over three years of work as Blatter’s adviser, The Guardian added.