Fifa is now attempting to make itself above all national and international law

By Tony Attwood

We know Fifa is looking to set up its own club competition in Africa as a prelude to taking over the Champions League.  Now we can return to the way it works when anyone dares to challenge its approach.

Stefan Keller was the special prosecutor of the Swiss public prosecutor’s office in charge of investigating Fifa, with particular reference to the secret meetings between former Federal Prosecutor Michael Lauber and Fifa mega overlord Gianni Infantino.

But earlier this year Keller was forced to drop his investigation. Indeed, the Federal Criminal Court has banned him from further researching the links between Infantino and former federal prosecutor Michael Lauber.  The subject effectively went “out of bounds” for the investigation.

In response he has now accused the Swiss judiciary of wanting to cover up the affair – the implication being that Fifa is an important resident of Switzerland, and the Swiss make a lot of money out of having international sporting corporations making their HQ in the country.

If this is what is happening it is a reversal of the approach which we highlighted in the article in January 2015 Switzerland take a greater interest in Fifa – at last.   It was there that we reported the change in Swiss law that allowed American forces to move in and arrest huge numbers of Fifa crooks.  Fifa of course took no notice of us, or the law change, and so carried on as if nothing had happened – until the CIA and co marched in.

Gradually Fifa has sought to accommodate the American demands for Fifa not to be the centre of corruption, and the organisation is now secure enough in its thinking to be able to demand the removal of Stefan Keller’s immunity from prosecution under the official secrets act.

The case concerns statements made by Stefan Keller in a legal journal “Plädoyer”. At the time, he said about the investigations targeting Gianni Infantino: “Several proceedings are pending before the Federal Criminal Court in this matter. Infantino wants to know exactly who my assistants are.” In doing so, he made public a complaint against Gianni Infantino which he was then obliged to keep secret, under a court ruling when he filed the investigation. Stefan Keller himself has always severely criticized this decision.

If the case proceeds Keller would be investigated by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office. That was the Office that appointed Stefan Keller as special investigator, before his appointment was confirmed by Parliament. Another extraordinary prosecutor has been appointed for the investigation, and has asked for the removal of Keller’s immunity from prosecution.  Fifa really is fighting back.

Keller now accuses the three judges of partiality. Two of the three magistrates belong to the Zurich SVP (the Swiss People’s Party), as does Mr. Infantino, he argues. This builds on accusations of cronyism among Blatter and friends who all come from the same small Swiss canton. (See The Valais Connection article).

Meanwhile members of the Federal Criminal Court are due for re-election by parliament in the next couple of months. 

Keller is also now stating that important files were unlawfully withheld from him during his investigation, amount to, “The obstruction of the extraordinary federal prosecutor” – something he claims was “systematic”.

Not surprisingly, now Stefan Keller is fighting both Fifa AND the Swiss state, he is not very optimistic.  He’s saying that the appeal body is not independent – and that this has been revealed now because Stefan Keller is the first extraordinary federal prosecutor appointed by Parliament investigate informal and non-formal meetings between a former Confederation Attorney General Michael Lauber and a major sporting organisation.

Fifa is not staying out of the debate either, and has called into question Stefan Keller’s qualifications while lodging complaints with the Federal Criminal Court.

Keller is arguing that given the current composition of the Federal Criminal Court, he is no longer in a position to complete his investigations within a reasonable time.  But the succession to Stefan Keller as well as that at the head of the MPC, left vacant a year ago after the resignation of Michael Lauber, have yet to be settled.

It may not be making the news in the UK, and it may seem like a convoluted set of legal arguments but if you want it summarised in one sentence it is this.

Fifa is now taking on the entire Swiss judicial system in an attempt to make itself above all national and international law.  If it wins, football will be lost for generations to come.

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