ZURICH: Ex-FIFA President Sepp Blatter said Friday that a comeback was possible for his former ally Michel Platini, declining to hit back after the Frenchman savaged him in an interview last month.
Blatter said that Platini’s name may be cleared by “new elements” concerning the infamous two million Swiss franc payment ($2 million, €1.9 million) that triggered both men’s ouster from football.
“I think he should be back and I think it is not all over,” Blatter said, suggesting that former UEFA boss Platini could again take charge of the European confederation, or even FIFA.
Blatter is currently serving a six-year ban from football over the payment he authorized to Platini in 2011. Platini’s suspension was cut to four years on appeal.
The pair are united in claiming the transaction was legitimate, but bitter words have been swapped since details of the payment emerged in September 2015.
Blatter says he met with US Department of Justice officials and is not a suspect in their investigation of corruption linked to FIFA.
“I was never a person of interest or under scrutiny by the American justice. Never.”
Blatter’s most recent contact “with lawyers from the US Justice Department” was several months ago in Switzerland and was also attended by FIFA legal representatives, he says.
Blatter says: “I have been investigated in two or three matters but it’s no wrongdoing. So the only case which is pending for me is the Swiss case.”
Swiss federal prosecutors have also questioned Blatter, though he says “clarification” in their broader FIFA investigation and not related to a criminal proceedings opened against him in September 2015.
In an interview with French newspaper Le Monde last month, Platini called Blatter “the biggest egoist I’ve ever seen in my life.
“He always said I would be his last scalp,” the former Juventus star said of Blatter.
Platini, 61, claimed there was a campaign to “destroy” him waged by Blatter loyalists inside FIFA.
Blatter on Friday expressed confusion over Platini’s harsh tone.
“If he sees me as an egoist, I accept ... but I helped him become president of UEFA in 2007 and we had good relations, so I don’t understand his attitude. Saying I wanted to harm him doesn’t hold up,” Blatter, 81, told AFP.
Both claim the payment was compensation for consulting work Platini did for FIFA between 1998 and 2002.
There has been media speculation that Blatter approved the money a decade later to buy Platini’s support for his reelection as FIFA president.
There have also been suggestions that Marco Villiger, a close associate of Blatter and a FIFA legal director, leaked details of the controversial payment to Swiss prosecutors, who have ongoing criminal probe into the case.
Separately, Blatter took a jibe at the signature achievement of his successor Gianni Infantino, branding the new FIFA president’s 48-team World Cup a dangerous move.
Infantino eagerly wanted to expand the cash-cow tournament beyond its current 32-team format, and has secured support from FIFA’s powerful Council for a larger competition in 2026.
The council has endorsed a format of 16 groups, each with three teams.
“To play in groups by three is not recommendable,” Blatter said. “One team is always a spectator.”
When a nation has no chance of moving on, “arrangements… could be done,” Blatter continued.
Blatter’s FIFA tenure ended in spectacular disgrace, after US prosecutors opened corruption probes against dozens of his top allies in world football.
He remains the target of an investigation in his native Switzerland over criminal mismanagement.
Blatter says Platini could make comeback
Blatter says Platini could make comeback
Al-Ahli hand Al-Nassr first defeat of SPL campaign in Jeddah thriller
- Ronaldo fluffs his lines as league leaders beaten 3-2
- Win strengthens Al-Ahli’s hold on 4th place, just 6 points off top
RIYADH: Al-Ahli beat Al-Nassr 3-2 in a Saudi Pro League thriller in Jeddah on Friday night, handing Cristiano Ronaldo’s charges their first league defeat of the season.
Al-Ahli made a blistering start, needing just 59 seconds to threaten the Al-Nassr goal. Nawaf Al-Aqidi saved Wenderson Galeno’s initial effort before Matheus Goncalves blazed the rebound over the bar.
The hosts remained on the front foot, repeatedly exploiting the space behind right-back Sultan Al-Ghannam. That approach paid dividends in the seventh minute, when Galeno broke into space and squared the ball to Ivan Toney, who finished calmly to open the scoring.
Al-Ahli continued to target the same channel, with Galeno again involved as he laid the ball off to Ali Majrashi, whose effort drifted inches wide of the post.
Majrashi redeemed himself minutes later when a long ball, combined with a clever run from Toney, broke the Al-Nassr offside trap. The English striker confidently finished past Al-Aqidi in the 20th minute for his second goal of the night and his eighth of the league campaign.
By the half-hour mark, Al-Ahli were firmly in control, with Al-Nassr struggling to create any clear chances. That changed in the 30th minute when a bold long-range effort from center back Abdulelah Al-Amri was mishandled by goalkeeper Abdulrahman Al-Sanbi, allowing the visitors to pull one back.
Momentum swung in Al-Nassr’s favor, although Saad Al-Nasser denied Feras Al-Brikan a potential third goal for Al-Ahli with a brave slide tackle on the edge of the six-yard box.
That missed opportunity proved costly, when on the brink of halftime Al-Amri rose highest to head home the equalizer.
Stoppage time brought further drama, as Al-Nassr went close at one end before Al-Ahli launched a swift counterattack and found Toney inside the box. The former Brentford striker struck the post to cap a thrilling first half.
The intensity was maintained in the second half, but it was Al-Ahli who regained the upper hand. A corner delivered to the far post in the 54th minute was met by Toney, who cleverly flicked the ball back into the danger area with his heel for Merih Demiral to score.
Al-Nassr were handed a golden opportunity to equalize just after the hour when Ronaldo found space in front of goal. But the league’s joint top scorer stumbled as he attempted to control the ball and the chance went begging.
Al-Ahli held firm through to the final whistle, although tempers flared deep into stoppage time.
Majrashi was shown a red card following a late scuffle, while Al-Nassr were also reduced to 10 when Nawaf Bu Washl was dismissed for denying Saleh Abou Al-Shamat a clear goalscoring opportunity as the last defender.
Elsewhere in the league, Georginio Wijnaldum inspired Al-Ettifaq to their fifth victory of the season with his second consecutive brace.
The Dutch midfielder opened the scoring in the 54th minute before converting from the spot in the 76th, leading The Commandos to a 2-0 win over Al-Okhdood and lifting them temporarily into seventh place on 19 points.
In the day’s third fixture, Samir Caetano’s stoppage-time equalizer earned Al-Najma their second point of the season in a dramatic 2-2 draw against Al-Khaleej.
The SPL action resumes on Saturday, with Al-Fateh hosting Al-Shabab, followed by Al-Fayha against Al-Kholood and Al-Ittihad versus Al-Taawoun.
