Former FIFA president Blatter faces final hearing in payment probe

Sepp Blatter, the former world football chief, faces his final hearing with a Swiss prosecutor on Monday in a fraud probe surrounding a 2011 FIFA payment to Michel Platini.

Former FIFA president Joseph “Sepp” Blatter, 85, said he was optimistic ahead of the hearing and hoped that the long-running saga would finally draw to an end.

Blatter is being investigated over a two million Swiss franc ($2.2 million, 1.85 million euro) payment to Platini, who was then in charge of European football’s governing body UEFA.

Blatter is due to meet with a federal prosecutor from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) of Switzerland.

The hearing in Zurich, where FIFA has its headquarters, is due to start at 9:00am (0700 GMT). Due to Blatter’s fragile health, it can only last for around 90 minutes, meaning it could reconvene on Tuesday.

The final hearing in the investigation was postponed to August due to the retired Swiss football administrator’s condition.

In March he was convalescing in a clinic after spending two months in hospital in December and January.

Blatter became FIFA’s general secretary in 1981 and the president of world football’s governing body in 1998.

Blatter was forced to stand down in 2015 and was originally banned by FIFA for eight years, later reduced to six, over ethics breaches when he authorised what prosecutors termed a “disloyal payment” to Platini — in other words, one made in his interests rather than FIFA’s.

Blatter and Platini, 66, found themselves at the centre of a Swiss investigation.

“Specifically, the criminal proceedings against Joseph Blatter are now being conducted on suspicion of fraud, breach of trust and unfaithful business management,” the OAG said in a statement.

“The criminal proceedings against Michel Platini are being conducted on suspicion of fraud, participation in breach of trust, participation in unfaithful management and false documents.”