Zurich (AFP)

Sepp Blatter, the almighty former president of Fifa, heard by a Swiss prosecutor on Monday in Zurich in the case of the suspicious payment which also threatens Michel Platini, will again face justice on Tuesday for what could be his ultimate hearing.

Monday morning's hearing was only supposed to last 90 minutes due to the state of health of the Swiss, 85 years old and hospitalized last December and January to undergo a major heart operation.

But Blatter, accompanied by his lawyer, did not leave the federal prosecutor's office until around 11:30 a.m. (9:30 a.m.GMT), much later than expected.

Visibly smiling and relaxed, he announced that his audition would continue on Tuesday.

For today, "there is not much news to report," he told reporters.

The hearing took place "in a good spirit", he said before rushing into a car, waving his hand to the media present in Zurich where the headquarters of Fifa is also located.

His spokesperson Thomas Renggli told AFP that the hearing started at 8.45 am (6.45 GMT), in the presence of a Fifa lawyer: "Mr. Blatter is happy, it went well. He hopes that tomorrow he will be able to finish ".

This file, which put the former boss of world football and Platini out of their sport, concerns the payment by Fifa of 2 million Swiss francs (1.8 million EUR) to the French triple golden ball in early 2011. , without written justification, by order of Blatter.

This is the last step before the closure of this investigation opened in 2015 against the two men, prosecuted for "unfair management", "breach of trust", "swindle" and "forgery".

Platini had been heard one last time in mid-March.

He is now awaiting the decision of the public prosecutor's office, which could either pronounce a dismissal or pave the way for a trial before the Federal Criminal Court of Bellinzona.

Blatter and Platini hammer relentlessly that this is a balance of payment for an advisory job carried out by the French in 1999-2002.

According to the two men, the agreement between them dates back to the spring of 1998: Sepp Blatter, who joined Fifa in 1975 as director of development but lacked sporting legitimacy, was then seeking the support of the former champion to take the head of the instance.

But Fifa, led since 2016 by Gianni Infantino, for its part deplores the absence of a written contract mentioning at the time such remuneration, and demands reimbursement from Platini.

Former UEFA boss Michel Platini upon his arrival at the Bernes federal prosecutor's office for a hearing, August 31, 2020 Fabrice COFFRINI AFP / Archives

- Remark -

Asked about Monday's meeting, the prosecution simply recalled that according to the Penal Code, "in important and complex proceedings, the accused persons are heard one last time before the end of the investigation and invited to express themselves on the results thereof ".

"The implementation of final hearings does not allow conclusions to be drawn as to the outcome of the criminal proceedings (classification, criminal order, indictment)", specify the authorities.

In a statement sent by his spokesperson before his hearing, the man who led world football from 1998 to 2015 said "to wait impatiently and optimistically for this final hearing, with the hope that this story will end soon".

"After all, this file goes back to something which happened ten years ago", he wrote, reaffirming that the payment of the 2 million Swiss francs to the ex-playmaker of Nancy, Saint-Etienne , Juventus and the France team, was legal in all respects.

"I can only repeat myself: (the payment) is based on an oral contract which defined Platini's consultancy activities for Fifa between 1998 and 2002", explains Blatter, adding that the delay in the payment was linked to the fact " that initially Fifa was not able to pay the full amount, and that Platini did not claim it until 2010 ".

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter interviewed before entering the premises of the Bern prosecutor's office, September 1, 2020 Fabrice COFFRINI AFP / Archives

For its part, the prosecution stressed that the presumption of innocence applied to all parties and clarified that it was not able to give a timetable for the continuation of this case.

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