Sepp Blatter officially appeals FIFA suspension

Sepp Blatter has filed an official appeal against his suspension by FIFA's ethics committee, his friend and former public relations adviser Klaus Stoehlker said on Friday.

Blatter, the Swiss who has been president of the global football body FIFA since 1998, was suspended on Thursday by the association's ethics committee. The 79-year-old is currently facing a Swiss criminal investigation.

"He has appealed. He wants to go on until the congress on Feb. 26 and he is not giving up early," Stoehlker told Reuters.

Stoehlker, who has been issuing information on behalf of Blatter since FIFA stopped handling his media affairs on Sept. 30, said Blatter had left FIFA headquarters at midnight on Thursday.

Blatter's appeal will go to the FIFA Appeals Committee, headed by Larry Mussenden of Bermuda.

The New York Times said it had obtained a copy of Blatter's appeal against the suspension.

In it, the paper reported that Blatter was objecting to brusque and unfair treatment. Blatter's legal team also demanded to see the ethics committee's case file and sought a hearing to argue their case in full.

Blatter's lawyers in Switzerland and the United States did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.

In the immediate aftermath of the suspension, Blatter's lawyers said in a statement that he was looking forward to presenting evidence that would prove he had not engaged in any misconduct.

The Swiss attorney general's office said on Sept. 25 that it had opened a criminal investigation into Blatter concerning a payment of 2 million Swiss francs (£1.3 million) from FIFA to Michel Platini in 2011, and a Caribbean television rights deal.

Blatter told a German magazine this week that the Swiss criminal investigation against him was "not correct".

"In the letter, Mr. Blatter’s legal team demands the opportunity to see the case file the ethics committee reviewed during its proceedings — a request that reflected a belief that the ethics committee’s decision was based almost entirely on the fact that the Swiss attorney general’s office recently opened an investigation into Mr. Blatter," the report claims.

"Assuming a presumption of innocence, Mr. Blatter’s lawyers argue, it is premature to impose any kind of suspension, especially if the investigation is subsequently dropped for lack of evidence.

"The letter also demands a hearing that would allow Mr. Blatter and his lawyers to argue the merits of their case in full; before the suspension was announced, Mr. Blatter was allowed to defend himself only in a short interview with investigators. Additionally, the appeal notes — with some disgust — the treatment Mr. Blatter received, pointing out that he learned of the decision to suspend him only after FIFA had announced it publicly.

"According to a person with knowledge of the events, Mr. Blatter read the decision of the ethics committee on his office computer."

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