Blatter confirms appeal to CAS against eight-year football ban

Dom Farrell

Blatter confirms appeal to CAS against eight-year football ban image

Sepp Blatter has confirmed his intention to appeal against his eight-year Fifa ban from all football-related activity at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

More: Blatter and Platini banned for eight years l Video: Blatter swamped by cameras in Zurich

Blatter, who had already announced that he would step down as Fifa president ahead of February's elections, and Uefa counterpart Michel Platini were both banned for eight years by Fifa's Ethics Committee on Monday.

But the 79-year-old Swiss later announced in a media conference that he will appeal to CAS, while also questioning the validity of the judgement under Swiss law.

Blatter said: "With my lawyer, he is putting into question all of what is right and what is wrong. I will use sporting justice now to go forward. We will go immediately once again to the appeal committee to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, we will also go to the Swiss [courts].

"Under Swiss law to be suspended for eight years you have to have committed something very, very important."

The bans relate to a payment of two million Swiss francs (£1.3million) made by Fifa, and authorised by Blatter, to Platini in Feburary 2011. Blatter and FIFA vice-president Platini claimed this related to work carried out by the former France captain for FIFA between 1999 and 2002, citing a "gentleman's agreement".

But the Ethics Committee ruled that there was "no legal basis" for the payment in a written agreement signed by both men on August 25, 1999 and added that the assertion of an oral agreement was "not convincing and rejected by the chamber".

Blatter railed continually against this notion throughout an erratic briefing, where he regularly expressed frustration at being informed of his ban only after the news had broken in the media.

The outgoing Fifa president said the organisation's regulations allowed for gentleman's agreements and pointed to the fact that his and Platini's versions of events align despite claiming not to have been in touch with his former colleague during the investigation process.

"Mr Platini and myself were asked separately about this since the first day when this happened. It was in a meeting here in July in Zurich," Blatter added. "We were separated, we couldn't speak together and we have given the same answer.

"The only thing they should have done is to say: 'Yes if this arrangement existed, you should have put it somewhere in the books.'

"I agree to that. But this is administrative and financial proceedings. It is nothing to do with ethics.

"These allegations I have given a gift to Platini because of this arrangement and contract. It says in the FIFA books that you can have an oral contract.

"I am suspended eight years but I will fight for me and I will fight for FIFA. I am suspended eight years for what?"

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.