Outgoing FIFA president Joseph Blatter said he felt betrayed by the organization’s ethics committee, which banned him from all football activity for eight years, as it did UEFA president Michel Platini, whom he described as an honorable man.
At a press conference in FIFA’s former headquarters, Blatter said the punishment would be appealed first to FIFA’s appeals committee, then the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and finally the Swiss courts. He expressed regret for world football and FIFA.
He said he was sorry to remain in this position and sorry, as FIFA president, to be accused. His heart ached for every association and everyone working at FIFA. He also felt sorry for himself over how he had been treated, saying human considerations had been ignored.
Asked whether he felt betrayed, he answered yes. He said the ethics committee had been asked to judge ethical conduct but had denied evidence and was trying to construct something untrue.