Blatter wages final FIFA ban appeal

LAUSANNE — Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter mounted his final appeal Thursday against his six-year ban from football, in a long-shot quest for redemption after his career ended in scandal. Blatter was at the world’s top sports court for a one-day hearing seeking to overturn a suspension imposed by FIFA over ethics violations. “I will accept the verdict,” Blatter, 80, told journalists outside the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland. “I do hope it will be positive for me, but we are footballers. We learn to win but also we learn to lose,” he said. The case that triggered Blatter’s downfall first emerged in September of last year, when Swiss prosecutors said they were investigating him over a suspect two million Swiss franc payment ($2 million, 1.8 million euros) he authorized in 2011 to his one-time heir apparent, Michel Platini. Platini, the former head of European football, was also sanctioned by FIFA over the funds. The Frenchman lost his CAS appeal in a May verdict that likely diminishes Blatter’s hopes of victory. Speaking to reporters before appearing to give evidence at the closed-door hearing, Platini said Blatter’s fate may already be sealed. “I’m not sure if a decision hasn’t already been made,” he said, pledging to tell the truth about the infamous payment “for the umpteenth time.” CAS secretary general Matthieu Reeb said the hearing may not wrap up until 7:00 p.m. (1700 GMT), citing delays. A decision may take several weeks. “I am sure, at the end... that the panel will understand that the payment made to Platini was really a debt that we had” with him, Blatter said Thursday. “This is a principle: if you have debts you pay them.”