Blatter still being paid salary despite ban from world soccer

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MIAMI, Jan 19, (Agencies): FIFA’s Sepp Blatter may have been banned for eight years from the game but he is still receiving his president’s salary from world soccer’s governing body, a spokesman for FIFA’s Audit and Compliance Committee told Reuters on Monday. Blatter was suspended for 90 days by FIFA on Oct 8 and then banned from the game for eight years last month for ethics violations over a $2 million payment FIFA made to European soccer boss Michel Platini with Blatter’s approval in 2011.

But Blatter, a Swiss national who has been president of FIFA since 1998, will continue to be paid until a new president is elected on Feb 26, the spokesman Andreas Bantel said. That would mean Blatter would have been paid for nearly five months during which time he was unable to carry out his duties, and a period in which FIFA has appointed an acting president, African soccer head Issa Hayatou. The compensation sub-committee of FIFA’s Audit and Compliance Committee recently ruled that it could stop Blatter’s bonuses but not, according to his contract, his salary.

“Until the election of a new president on Feb 26, Mr Blatter is the elected president and therefore — according to his contract — is entitled to receive his remuneration,” Bantel said. Blatter’s US lawyer and his Switzerland-based spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment. FIFA is facing the worst corruption crisis in it history as a total of 41 individuals and entities, including many former FIFA officials, have been charged with corruption-related offences in the United States. The US investigation is far from over and FIFA also faces a parallel Swiss probe.

Blatter’s bonuses have been stopped because he was not carrying out his duties of supervising the organization, including its general secretary. Meanwhile, UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino on Tuesday promised reforms to make scandal-tainted FIFA “credible” and more money for member countries if elected head of football’s world body next month. Infantino also confirmed in his manifesto that he would increase the World Cup to 40 teams. The Swiss official, who has been righthand man to suspended UEFA leader Michel Platini for the past seven years, said “FIFA and football have a lot at stake in this election”.

Platini and FIFA president Sepp Blatter were banned from football activities for eight years last month opening up the election for a new FIFA leader which is to be held in Zurich on Feb 26. Infantino is one of five candidates who have all promised to clean up the world body after the Blatter-Platini investigation and a US inquiry which has left 39 individuals and two companies facing charges over bribes for football deals.

Infantino proposed a new FIFA Council for key decisions, 12-year term limits for officials including the president, more “independent voices” on key FIFA committees, declaring the remuneration of top FIFA members, naming a chief compliance officer and establishing a fully open tendering process for the body’s multi-billion dollar deals. “Taken together, these changes will, I believe, put FIFA on the path towards restored credibility and integrity,” he said.

Infantino also said FIFA should “aim in the future” to channel 50 percent of its revenues to member associations. Under his plan each of the 209 member associations would get $5 million over four years for football development projects. Regional confederations would get $40 million over four years.

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