Blatter: Payment to Platini based on 'gentleman's agreement'

Embattled FIFA president Sepp Blatter has spoken for the first time about the€2-million payment to Michel Platini that led to both being suspended from all football activities for 90 days, describing it merely as a "gentleman's agreement."

Blatter maintains that the payment was for advisory work the UEFA president did for him around the turn of the millennium, playing down the fact that the payment was paid in full nine years later. Platini backed up these claims, saying it was unpaid additional salary.

The pair insist, and various sources have reported, that there is no written contract for the payment to Platini. The alleged "disloyal payment" is now subject to a lengthy investigation.

Speaking to Swiss broadcaster RROTV, via CBC.ca, Blatter said it "was a contract I had with Platini, a gentleman's agreement and that went through."

It remains to be seen how the controversy will affect Platini's bid to succeed Blatter as FIFA president.

The FIFA scandal grew even more complex earlier on Friday with the news that German officials apparently paid for votes to win the bidding for the 2006 World Cup.

It seems corruption could be rife throughout FIFA, as alarming practices continue to be found throughout the hierarchy of world football.