Sepp Blatter Loses Cas Appeal, ‘Accepts’ Verdict
By Andah John with agency report
Sepp Blatter will serve six-year ban from football after losing his appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).
Blatter’s 17-year resign as Fifa president ended in disgrace as he was banned over ethics breaches following corruption scandal in 2015.
The 80-year-old was discovered to have made a £1.3m “disloyal payment” to former Uefa president Michel Platini. But both football administrators have repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
What Cas says
Cas described the payment as “an undue gift” with “no contractual basis”.
Following the ruling, Blatter said “no other verdict could be expected.”
“I have to accept this decision. I have experienced much in my 41 years in Fifa…mostly learned that you can win in sport, but you can also lose,” the Swiss said.
Cas said Blatter “requested the annulment of the ban but did not request a reduced penalty.”
It continued: “In any event, the panel determined that the sanction imposed was not disproportionate.”
A flip back
The world football governing body suspended Blatter and Platini for eight years in December. But their 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, according to a BBC report.
