A FIFA lawyer: Confident that the judicial proceedings against Infantino will be dropped
One of the FIFA lawyers, Jean-Pierre Mayan, confirmed between the two officials in the file of his president, Jani Infantino, who is targeted by a criminal investigation by the Swiss judiciary, of his confidence in dropping the judicial procedures against his client. Infantino has been subject to criminal proceedings since July 30, as the exceptional federal prosecutor considered that there are "constructive elements of disgraceful behavior in connection with the meeting between Attorney General Michael Lauber" and the FIFA President. The violations in the file included "incitement to abuse of power," "violation of official secrecy," and "obstruction of criminal proceedings."
Mian, a lawyer in Lausanne who specializes in fighting corruption, said in an interview with Agence France-Presse: “There is nothing wrong with meeting a public prosecutor, even informally, as this is completely normal and not at all criminal.” He added that the president of the world soccer body elected in general. 2016 "was not called (for investigation). We hope (that) will be done as soon as possible. ”
The lawyer, former head of Switzerland for the non-governmental organization Transparency, explained that the procedure against Infantino“ only mentions an anonymous complaint. We haven't seen it yet, and we will be able to get the file when Mister Infantino is heard. "
Numerous informal meetings between Lauber and Infantino between 2016 and 2017 were revealed in the press, including by "Football Leaks" in 2018, raising suspicions of possible collusion with FIFA.
In recent years, the FIFA Ethics Committee has arrested many influential figures in the world of football by subjecting them to legal procedures. In the fall of 2015, former Swiss President Joseph Blatter and then French UEFA president Michel Platini were temporarily suspended for a period of 90 days after hearing them in a Swiss judicial investigation (Blatter as defendant and Platini as auxiliary witness) on charges of paying two million Swiss francs (1.8 million). EUR) from the first to the second. Then Blatter was suspended for six years and Platini for four years.
For lawyer Mian who just made an assessment of FIFA governance, "It seems to me that the Ethics Committee is more independent. It used to be elected by the FIFA Council, and now it is elected by Congress, that is a great progress." "These are people who, by virtue of their personality, will not be pushed in one direction or another," he added.