SAN FRANCISCO, December 05, (THEWILL) – Sepp Blatter, the former president of FIFA has lost his appeal to upturn his six-year ban from football as the ban imposed by the FIFA ethics committee was upheld today by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
THEWILL recalls that the 80-year-old Swiss was banned over ethics breaches as his 17 years as head of football’s world governing body ended in a corruption scandal in 2015.
He was found to have made a £1.3m “disloyal payment” to ex-UEFA boss Michel Platini.
Although both men denied wrongdoing, CAS described the payment as “an undue gift” with “no contractual basis.”
Reacting on the decision, Blatter said “no other verdict could be expected.”
“I have to accept this decision. I have experienced much in my 41 years in FIFA. I mostly learned that you can win in sport, but you can also lose.”
In its written verdict, CAS said Blatter “requested the annulment of the ban but did not request a reduced penalty.”
“In any event, the panel determined that the sanction imposed was not disproportionate.”
NAN recalls that FIFA suspended Blatter and Platini for eight years in December, but the bans were reduced to six years by its appeals committee.
In May, CAS reduced Platini’s ban to four years after he appealed.
The 61-year-old had sought to get the punishment overturned, but a three-man panel said it “was not convinced by the legitimacy” of the payment Blatter made to him in 2011.
Both men say it was for consultancy work Platini had done for Blatter between 1998 and 2002, and they had a “gentleman’s agreement” on when the balance would be settled.
The payment is also being looked into by Swiss prosecutors.
Story by Oputah David
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