Sepp Blatter said Wednesday that he was the target of "an
inquisition" by FIFA's ethics committee, which has suspended him for 90
days and called for further sanctions over corruption charges.
Blatter,
who led for FIFA for 17 years until his suspension in October, appeared
in several Swiss media on Wednesday, defending himself against a range
of allegations that have sparked
widespread calls for reform at the top
of world football.
Speaking to the Zurich-based Sportinformation
news service, Blatter invoked his faith and portrayed himself as the
victim of an attack.
"As a good Christian, I have to say that
what the ethics commission is doing with me, it's like an inquisition,"
the sanctioned FIFA boss said.
Those comments followed an
interview aired on the SF DRS television station in which Blatter
insisted the burden of proof was on his accusers.
"It's not me who has to prove my innocence," the Swiss national said.
He claimed he deserved an honourable exit from FIFA, because, he said, "I am not a bad man."
Blatter
is the target of a criminal investigation by Swiss prosecutors over
possible mismanagement at FIFA and a $2m payment made in 2011 to his
would-be successor, UEFA boss Michel Platini.
The Swiss criminal probe spurred FIFA's internal ethics watchdog to launch its own inquiry.
FIFA
investigators finalised their probe over the weekend, turning evidence
over to the ethics committee's judges, who will issue a verdict next
month.
The investigators have called for a lifetime ban against
Platini, but the requested punishment against Blatter is not yet known.
In
a separate interview aired on the RTS television station, Blatter
voiced regret that he did not quit FIFA after the 2014 World Cup in
Brazil.
In clips of the RTS interview released on Sunday, the 79-year-old spoke of his recent hospitalisation for stress.
"I
was close to dying. I was between the angels who were singing and the
devil who was lighting the fire, but it was the angels who sang,"
Blatter said.
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Fifa President: "I am not a bad man" says Sepp Blatter
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