Football: Blatter to be probed by FIFA

PARIS: Fifa announced they have opened an investigation into president Sepp Blatter as the corruption scandal gripping world football took another extraordinary twist. The governing body said Blatter would appear before Fifa’s Ethics Committee tomorrow after claims that the chief knew about alleged cash payments at the centre of a corruption probe targeting his rival Mohamed Bin Hammam. Bin Hammam demanded the corruption investigation be widened to include Blatter as the two men prepare to contest an election on June 1 for control of world football. The announcement came two days after Bin Hammam, Fifa vice-president Jack Warner and two Caribbean Football Union officials were summoned to answer corruption allegations. Reports said Bin Hammam and Warner are accused of offering $40,000 cash gifts to national associations at the Trinidad conference on May 10 and 11 in return for their votes in next week’s presidential election.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2011.