Blatter Engulfed by FIFA Crisis After Swiss Open Criminal Probe
- President accused of paying bribe to heir apparent Platini
- Probe of leaders puts world soccer's transition in disarray
FIFA President Sepp Blatter.
Photographer: Michel Buholzer/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Swiss authorities opened a criminal investigation against FIFA chief Joseph “Sepp” Blatter as a widening bribery scandal engulfed the man long seen as world soccer’s unassailable kingmaker.
Switzerland’s attorney general, in a statement Friday, said he was looking into suspected criminal mismanagement and misappropriation by Blatter, the 79-year-old who has controlled FIFA for a 17-year span marked by growing allegations of corruption and bribery.