KEIR RADNEDGE REPORTS: Sepp Blatter, Gianni Infantino’s predecessor as president of FIFA, believes the 50-year-old should be suspended as he was pending the outcome of Swiss criminal investigation.

On Thursday Infantino was notified that a special prosecutor has approved such an investigation over issues linked with the departure of the Swiss Attorney-General, Michael Lauber.

In the autumn of 2015 Blatter was suspended by the world federation’s ethics committee after being placed under investigation over the infamous $2m “disloyal payment” to the then UEFA president Michel Platini.

Infantino, who has denied all wrongdoing, has insisted he will sit out the judicial and media storm.

But Blatter, now 84, said: “For me, the situation is clear, that the FIFA ethics committee has to open a case against Mr Infantino and so it has to suspend him.”

Subsequently Blatter was banned for eight years, reduced to six on appeal. He remains under investigation but, after five years, has not ben charged.

The heads of investigatory and adjudicatory chambers of the ethics committee are Colombian Maria Claudia Rojas and Greek Vassilios Skouris respectively.

They may view a crucial difference between the two cases being that Blatter’s issue concerned misuse of FIFA’s own monies.

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