Blatter in last fight against FIFA ban

Geneva, August 24 

Sepp Blatter will mount his final challenge against his six-year FIFA ban on Thursday, following more than a year of scandal that saw him thrown out of football in disgrace.

The former FIFA boss has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) seeking to overturn a suspension imposed by world football’s governing body.

“I’m very confident,” the 80-year-old Blatter told AFP last week, although his prospects for an outright victory would appear to be remote.

The now infamous, endlessly debated case first emerged in September of last year, when Swiss prosecutors said they were investigating Blatter over a suspect 2 million Swiss franc payment ($2 million) he authorised in 2011 to his one-time heir apparent, Michel Platini. A full investigation and trial by FIFA’s in-house court found Blatter and Platini guilty of ethics violations.

Blatter’s hopes for redemption at CAS are likely hampered by Platini’s failed appeal at the Lausanne-based court. — AFP