LAUSANNE: Markus Kattner, Fifa’s finance director under Sepp Blatter who also served as acting secretary-general, has been banned from all football-related activity for 10 years and fined 1 million Swiss francs after being found guilty of conflicts of interest and abusing his position, the sport’s world governing body announced Tuesday.
“The investigation into Mr Kattner covered various charges concerning bonus payments in relation to Fifa competitions that were paid to top Fifa management officials , various amendments to and extensions of employment contracts, reimbursement of private legal costs, and Mr Kattner’s duties as an official,” Fifa said in a statement.
The payment was made in 2011, when Blatter was seeking re-election as president, but was related to work carried out by Platini between 1999 and 2002. Frenchman Valcke was given a 12-year ban, later reduced to 10 years, in September 2015 following a scandal involving the resale of 2014 World Cup tickets.Blatter and Valcke are also currently the subject of a separate Swiss investigation into the former’s payment to Platini.