Criminal proceedings against FIFA president Gianni Infantino have been launched in Switzerland.
A special prosecutor was appointed this month to investigate dealings between Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber and Infantino.
Lauber offered to resign last week after a court concluded he covered up a meeting with the FIFA president and lied to supervisors while his office probed corruption surrounding football’s governing body.
But the authority overseeing Switzerland’s federal prosecutors announced on Thursday that special prosecutor Stefan Keller – who also requested permission to begin proceedings against the attorney general – had found indications of criminal conduct related to the meetings.
Both the accused have previously denied any wrongdoing
Infantino became FIFA president in 2016 after beating favourite Sheikh Salman over two rounds of voting in Zurich.
He replaced Sepp Blatter, who was forced to resign a year earlier over corruption allegations
Speaking at the time, Infantino told FIFA’s congress: “I cannot express my feelings in this moment.
“We will restore the image and the respect of FIFA and everyone in the world will applaud us.
“We are finally going to ensure that we can once again focus on the beautiful game of football.”
He had previously held the post of UEFA general secretary since 2009, and had been backed by both Europe’s football governing body and the English FA.
Welcoming his election, then-FA chairman Greg Dyke told Sky News it was a “good day” and that FIFA now had a “president we can trust”.
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