Blatter faces 90 day suspension from FIFA, confidant says

October 8, 2015

FIFA
Zurich, Oct 8: FIFA president Sepp Blatter faces an imminent 90 day suspension from football if the governing body's ethics judge backs a prosecutor's recommendation, a close friend and former advisor to Blatter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Blatter's long-term confidant Klaus Stoehlker said the decision by judge Hans-Joachim Eckert on the provisional suspension was expected by Friday.

"There is no final decision, this is a recommendation from the lower part of the Ethics Committee to the upper part," said Stoehlker, who added that Blatter had been informed of the development.

"President Blatter will be in his office at FIFA tomorrow," he said.

FIFA's ethics code provides for a representative of the Investigatory Chamber to look into a case and make a request to Eckert's Adjudicatory Chamber to take action.

While Stoehlker said Blatter was "very calm", a suspension would be a humiliating outcome for the 79-year-old who has been at FIFA for 40 years.

Even after the arrests of FIFA officials in May, which plunged the organisation into crisis, Blatter promised to lead a reform process before standing down in February.

If Eckert does opt for a suspension it would also leave the strife-ridden body without either of its top two officials.

Secretary general Jerome Valcke, Blatter's right-hand man for the past eight years, was suspended last month after allegations he was involved in a scheme to sell 2014 World Cup tickets at a marked-up price. Valcke denied the charges.

Stoehlker's comments were not able to be verified by FIFA bodies and FIFA's media department directed inquiries to Blatter's lawyers who said he had not been informed of any decision.

"President Blatter has not been notified of any action taken by the FIFA Ethics Committee. We would expect that the Ethics Committee would want to hear from the President and his counsel, and conduct a thorough review of the evidence, before making any recommendation to take disciplinary action," said a joint statement from Swiss lawyer Lorenz Erni and Blatter's U.S lawyer Richard Cullen.

A spokesman for Eckert declined to comment. A spokesman for the Investigatory Chamber of the Ethics Committee declined to comment citing FIFA's rules which prohibit them discussing cases.

If Blatter is suspended then under FIFA's statutes the most senior vice-president, currently African football head Issa Hayatou from Cameroon, would become interim president until an election to choose Blatter's replacement on February 26.

The 79-year-old Swiss has been president of FIFA since 1998 and has worked for the organisation for 40 years, starting as a technical director before becoming secretary general under former president Joao Havelange in 1981.

Swiss prosecutors last month opened a criminal investigation into Blatter over a Caribbean World Cup TV rights contract he signed, and a 2011 payment of 2 million Swiss francs ($2.1 million) to Platini, whose status the Swiss attorney general has described as being between a witness and an accused person.

Both have denied any wrongdoing.

Media reports have suggested that Platini is also being investigated by the Ethics Committee.

Bound by confidentiality rules, FIFA's Ethics Committee has not commented on whether Platini is under investigation. Platini's spokesman declined to comment.

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News Network
March 22,2024

IPL.jpg

The start of the world’s most lucrative cricket tournament in India is presenting investors with another big opportunity to cash in on the sport, months after the world’s most populous nation hosted the Cricket World Cup.

The eight-week long Indian Premier League begins March 22 for its 17th season. Since its inception, the fast-paced cricket tournament has become a corporate juggernaut to rival the National Football League in the US and the English Premier League in value.

Just as October’s Cricket World Cup boosted consumption in India for months, fans are expected to flock to restaurants, pubs and food delivery platforms over the duration of the tournament. This year’s IPL also coincides with general elections that will last for six weeks starting April 19, a period when companies are expecting higher food and drink sales as people flock to rallies and other events.

“There’s going to be a lot of spending,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. “IPL, as well as the election, gives a three-month corridor with enhanced economic activity.”

Stocks in India such as McDonald’s franchise operator Westlife Foodworld Ltd. and peer Sapphire Foods India Ltd. gained ahead of the first match on Friday, as well as hotels and beverage makers. Packaged-food companies could also stand to benefit from the IPL craze, said Sachil Bobade, an analyst at investment firm Dolat Capital Market.

The IPL ecosystem was valued at $11 billion (Rs 91,721 crores) in 2023, including the value of media rights and sponsorships, according to Indian valuation consulting firm D&P Advisory.

The league is also attracting record sums of money from sponsors and broadcasters. Conglomerate Tata Group won the title sponsorship rights of the tournament in January for a record 25 billion rupees ($300 million). Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s media venture secured the digital streaming rights in 2022 for five years for $2.7 billion, while Walt Disney Co. paid roughly the same for TV rights.

“There was a serious amount of bidding even this year,” said Vinit Karnik, head of entertainment, esports and sports at media agency GroupM South Asia. “I see growth in IPL in double digits year-on-year,” he adds.

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