Alleged Defamation: 'I'm going to take legal action against Infantino and FIFA' - Sepp Blatter

Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter - Getty

Sepp Blatter, the disgraced former Fifa president, is suing his successor Gianni Infantino for alleged defamation, unpaid pension contributions and failure to return his valuable watch collection, according to reports in Switzerland.


Die Weltwoche, a magazine based in Zurich, claims the controversial figure has a "series of scores" to settle with Infantino and Fifa, including information detailing his financial dealings which are "divorced from reality".

“I’m going to take legal action against Gianni Infantino and Fifa,” Blatter is reported as saying. “I’ve had enough. This is the limit."

Blatter was banned over ethics breaches as his 17 years as head of football's world governing body ended in a corruption scandal in 2015. However, he now claims he has fallen victim to smears by Fifa.

“The information and the various communiqués put about by Fifa concerning my income are divorced from reality, and consequently, are defamatory," he told Die Weltwoche.

Fifa, he alleges, have spread a “false report” and “falsely represented” a bonus of 12 million Swiss Francs (£9m) that Fifa claims Blatter received subsequent to the 2014 Brazil World Cup. “It is false to claim that I received this bonus,” he said.

Additionally, Blatter, 83, says that he did not receive anything from the Fifa pension fund which he helped set up, unlike other former members of the Executive Committee.