FIFA president Sepp Blatter faces an impending 90-day provisional suspension if the prosecutor's recommendations are taken into account by the judge of the world football body's ethics committee. But a source close to Blatter has denied that there is such a threat.
"I was with president Blatter 30 minutes ago and no information of this kind was communicated to us," the associate was quoted as saying by AFP.
Earlier this month, the Swiss Attorney General opened criminal proceedings against the 79-year-old, after he was accused of signing an "unfavourable" contract and also for giving almost $2 million to the UEFA president Michel Platini. The UEFA president said that it was a "valid compensation."
Blatter has also brushed aside all the accusations and stated that he was not involved in any wrongdoings. However, Blatter's long-time confidant Klaus Stoehlker opined that the judge's decision might be announced on Friday.
"There is no final decision; this is a recommendation from the lower part of the Ethics Committee to the upper part. President Blatter will be in his office at FIFA tomorrow [Thursday]," Stoehlker told the reporters.
Stoehlker also went on to say that if Blatter is suspended for 90 days, it will be humiliating for the 79-year-old, who has been at the helm of football's governing body for 17 years. In a recent interview with a German magazine, Blatter said that he will not be asked to leave the office before the election, which is supposed to be held in February 2016.
"President Blatter has not been notified of any action taken by the FIFA Ethics Committee. We would expect that the Ethics Committee would want to hear from the President and his counsel, and conduct a thorough review of the evidence, before making any recommendation to take disciplinary action," a joint statement from Swiss lawyer Lorenz Erni and Blatter's US lawyer Richard Cullen stated.
