Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has not come out successful in his effort to do away with his six-year ban, meted out to him by the FIFA Ethics committee, over making an alleged disloyal payment to former UEFA boss Michel Platini. His appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), on Monday, got upheld.
The bans to both Platini and Blatter were for an eight-year period, but the ban was reduced to six years by an appeal panel earlier in February this year. Still not happy, Blatter, who lost his presidency to Gianni Infantino, decided to keep contesting the ban.
However, he has totally suffered defeat and has also been fined 50,000 Swiss francs by the CAS over his alleged payment worth 2 million Swiss francs ($1.98m) to Platini in 2011.
"I take note of the verdict of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The way the case progressed, no other verdict could be expected," Blatter was quoted saying by the BBC after the CAS ruling on Monday.
"What I find incomprehensible is that the existence of the oral agreement between Fifa and Michel Platini is still steadfastly negated in spite of my testimony to the contrary and the testimony given by other witnesses. A Uefa protocol mentioning the agreement is also disregarded.
"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 this sense, I have to accept this decision (my suspension as Fifa president), although it is difficult to follow it because the principle of jurisdiction – culpability has to be proven by prosecution – was not applied.
"Nevertheless I look back with gratitude to all the years, in which I was able to realise my ideals for football and serve Fifa."
