Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has accused his successor Gianni Infantino of disrespect, while lambasting plans to expand the World Cup.

The Qatar 2022 edition of football's flagship tournament is the last to feature its current 32-team format, with 48 nations set to take part at the 2026 event.

Infantino has pushed for expansion since he replaced Blatter as the head of FIFA and has explored moving the World Cup to either a biennial or triennial cycle.

But his predecessor suggests he is not acting in the best interests of the sport.

"What is happening at the moment is an over-commercialisation of the game," he told German newspaper Die Ziet. "[It is] trying to squeeze more and more out of the lemon.

"[Look at] the World Cup with 48 teams, or a Club World Cup that must be viewed as competition to the UEFA Champions League. FIFA is meddling in something that doesn't really concern them.

"I have no relationship with Infantino. He behaved disrespectfully because he has refused any contact with me since his election. He only communicates with me through lawyers."

Infantino revealed plans for a 32-team Club World Cup earlier this month, returning to a planned expansion originally waylaid by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proposal is still subject to confederation approval, and is expected to generate pushback from several leading clubs, particularly in the wake of the failed European Super League breakaway.

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter says hosting the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is "a mistake".

Blatter was in charge of football's world governing body in 2010 when the Gulf nation was controversially selected to stage the upcoming tournament.

The build-up to the showpiece, which begins on November 20, has been dominated by concerns over the treatment of workers and laws that criminalise same-sex relations.

Blatter, who was cleared of fraud charges by a Swiss court earlier this year over financial misconduct allegations, maintains he never personally voted for Qatar to hold the event.

"The choice of Qatar was a mistake," he said in an interview with Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger.

"At the time, we actually agreed in the executive committee that Russia should get the 2018 World Cup and the USA that of 2022. 

"It would have been a gesture of peace if the two long-standing political opponents had hosted the World Cup one after the other.

"[Qatar] is too small a country. Football and the World Cup are too big for that."

Amid a backdrop of political unrest in the build-up to Qatar 2022, FIFA president Gianni Infantino last week urged the 32 competing nations to focus solely on football matters.

"We know football does not live in a vacuum and we are equally aware that there are many challenges and difficulties of a political nature all around the world," FIFA's letter read.

"At FIFA, we try to respect all opinions and beliefs, without handing out moral lessons to the rest of the world. 

"One of the great strengths of the world is indeed its very diversity, and if inclusion means anything, it means having respect for that diversity."

Qatar has been transformed over the past 12 years in preparation for the event, but Blatter – who led FIFA for 17 years – says it should be held elsewhere.

"I can only repeat: the award to Qatar was a mistake, and I was responsible for that as president at the time," he said.

"Now that the World Cup is imminent, I'm glad that, with a few exceptions, no footballers are boycotting the World Cup. For me it is clear: Qatar is a mistake. The choice was bad."

Switzerland's attorney general has launched an appeal against the acquittals of Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, the former presidents of FIFA and UEFA respectively.

Blatter and Platini were cleared of all charges against them following a trial at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, with that outcome being announced in July.

They had been charged with fraud and other offences by Swiss authorities relating to a payment of 2million Swiss francs made by Blatter to Platini in 2011.

For Blatter, there were charges of fraud, misappropriation, criminal mismanagement and forgery of a document. Platini had been charged with fraud, participating in misappropriation, participating in criminal mismanagement and forgery of a document.

Both men had denied any wrongdoing and the court found in their favour.

However, the matter is not yet over, as prosecutors are challenging the court's ruling.

In a statement, the Office of the Attorney General announced it had requested for the judgement to be overturned.

It said: "We confirm that the Office of the Attorney General has appealed to the Appeals Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court within the statutory period and has applied for the full annulment of the first-instance judgement."

The statement continued: "No further information is given on the content of the declaration of appeal. The presumption of innocence applies to all those involved in the proceedings."

Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini have been acquitted of all charges against them following a trial at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona.

The former presidents of FIFA and UEFA respectively were last year charged with fraud and other offences by Swiss authorities relating to a payment of 2million Swiss francs made by Blatter to Platini in 2011.

For Blatter, there were charges of fraud, misappropriation, criminal mismanagement and forgery of a document. Platini had been charged with fraud, participating in misappropriation, participating in criminal mismanagement and forgery of a document.

Both men had denied any wrongdoing and the court found in their favour on Friday.

Blatter was awarded CHF 82,000 to cover his defence costs and CHF 20,000 in compensation. Platini received CHF 143,000.

A statement from Platini, reported by Reuters, read: "I want to express my happiness for all my loved ones that justice has finally been done after seven years of lies and manipulation.

"The truth has come to light during this trial. I kept saying it: my fight is a fight against injustice. I won a first game."

Blatter, who was at the court on Friday, had said: "I am not innocent in my life, but in this case I am innocent."

Sepp Blatter has denied approving fraudulent payments to Michel Platini while he was president of FIFA, saying the cash transfer was a "gentleman's agreement" between the pair.

Blatter and Platini were last year charged with fraud and other offences by Swiss authorities relating to a payment of 2million Swiss francs made by world football's governing body to the ex-UEFA chief in 2011.

The trial at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona was due to start on Wednesday, but Blatter was unable to attend as he was suffering from chest pains.

Blatter provided his testimony on Thursday, stating he asked former France captain Platini to work for FIFA as an advisor when he was elected as president in 1998.

The 86-year-old said the governing body could not afford the CHF 1m per year Platini asked for but agreed to pay him CHF 300,000 a year, with the remaining cash to be settled up at a later date.

Blatter said in court: "I knew when we started with Michel Platini that is not the total, and we would look at it later,"

He stated that they shook hands on a "gentleman's agreement".

Blatter added: "It was an agreement between two sportsmen. I found nothing wrong with that."

Platini said: "I trusted the president and knew he would pay me one day."

The 66-year-old Platini told the court he did not need the money he was owed when he stopped working for FIFA in 2002, a time when Blatter claimed the governing body was "broke".

It was not until January 2011 he asked FIFA to pay up after hearing two former employees had received substantial payments, and Platini revealed he was paid 10 days after sending an invoice, with Blatter approving the transfer.

Blatter was originally banned from footballing activities for eight years, reduced to six, by FIFA in 2015 following an Ethics Committee investigation that described the payment as "disloyal". Platini was also given an eight-year suspension, which was later reduced.

Swiss Blatter has been charged with fraud, misappropriation, criminal mismanagement and forgery of a document. Platini has been charged with fraud, participating in misappropriation, participating in criminal mismanagement and forgery of a document.

Both Blatter and Platini deny any wrongdoing. The case continues.

The trial of former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and ex-UEFA president Michel Platini has been delayed by a day after the former said he was too ill to testify.

Blatter and Platini were set to begin their court appearance at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona on Wednesday, with both men facing fraud charges.

Judges however have allowed a one-day postponement after Blatter reported he was suffering from chest pains.

The duo were banned from football in 2015 over corruption claims and were indicted in November last year by Swiss prosecutors.

It is claimed that a payment of 2 million Swiss francs (£1.6m) made by Blatter to Platini in 2011 was unlawful.

Both men deny wrongdoing.

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and ex-UEFA boss Michel Platini will go on trial facing corruption charges in June, Switzerland's Federal Criminal Court (FCC) has confirmed.

The pair were last year charged with fraud and other offences by Swiss authorities relating to a payment made in 2011.

Switzerland's attorney general's office (OAG) published an indictment following an investigation that began in 2015.

Both men "are accused of unlawfully arranging a payment of CHF2million from FIFA to Michel Platini", the OAG said at the time.

The date for the trial to start has now been set for June 8, with proceedings set to last until June 22.

The case centres on a payment made by FIFA to Platini in 2011, authorised by Blatter, which the OAG alleges "was made without a legal basis".

The indictment alleges that Platini demanded this CHF2million payment more than eight years after his work as a consultant for Blatter between 1999 and 2002 had come to an end, and that it "damaged FIFA's assets and unlawfully enriched Platini".

According to the indictment, Platini had allegedly been paid by FIFA an annual fee of CHF300,000 for his consultancy work. This amount had been agreed upon in a written contract, the indictment said.

Blatter was originally banned from footballing activities for eight years, reduced to six, by FIFA in 2015 following an Ethics Committee investigation that described the payment as "disloyal". Platini was also given an eight-year suspension.

Both Blatter and Platini have denied any wrongdoing, with the former FIFA president stating there was a "gentleman's agreement" over the payment.

Blatter has been charged with fraud, misappropriation, criminal mismanagement and forgery of a document. Platini has been charged with fraud, participating in misappropriation, participating in criminal mismanagement and forgery of a document.

Former FIFA boss Sepp Blatter says incumbent Gianni Infantino "is not a good president" and has criticised his successor for his decision to live in Qatar ahead of the 2202 World Cup.

Football's world governing body confirmed on Thursday that Infantino has moved from Zurich to Doha on a temporary basis to oversee the build-up to the World Cup in December.

Blatter called that decision "incomprehensible" and "outrageous" on French radio on Thursday.

"He is not a good president, and I must say it. He is not doing his job properly," Zurich told Europe 1 Sport.

"I would never have thought of going to live in the capital where we play the World Cup.

"The place of the president of FIFA is the place where FIFA has its headquarters, in Zurich."

Former FIFA officials Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini have been charged with fraud and other offences by Swiss authorities relating to a payment made in 2011.

Switzerland's attorney general's office (OAG) published an indictment on Tuesday following an investigation that began in 2015.

Both men "are accused of unlawfully arranging a payment of CHF2million from FIFA to Michel Platini", the OAG said.

Former FIFA president Blatter and ex-UEFA president Platini are now set to face a hearing before Switzerland's Federal Criminal Court (FCC).

The case centres on a payment made by FIFA to Platini in 2011, authorised by Blatter, which the OAG alleges "was made without a legal basis".

The indictment alleges that Platini demanded this CHF2million payment more than eight years after his work as a consultant for Blatter between 1999 and 2002 had come to an end, and that it "damaged FIFA's assets and unlawfully enriched Platini".

According to the indictment, Platini had allegedly been paid by FIFA an annual fee of CHF300,000 for his consultancy work. This amount had been agreed upon in a written contract, the indictment said.

Blatter was originally banned from footballing activities for eight years, reduced to six, by FIFA in 2015 following an Ethics Committee investigation that described the payment as "disloyal". Platini was also given an eight-year suspension.

Each man denied wrongdoing, with Blatter insisting there was a "gentleman's agreement" over the payment.

Blatter has been charged with fraud, misappropriation, criminal mismanagement and forgery of a document. Platini has been charged with fraud, participating in misappropriation, participating in criminal mismanagement and forgery of a document.

FIFA has been awarded with $201million as compensation for the criminal activities of former officials.

In 2015, world football's governing body was raided by Swiss authorities on behalf of the United States Department of Justice, with Sepp Blatter among over 40 officials charged.

On Tuesday, FIFA confirmed the Department of Justice had awarded a $201m compensation package to the FIFA Foundation. 

This sum – seized from the bank accounts of the officials who were prosecuted – covers the losses suffered by FIFA, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL as "victims of decades of football corruption schemes".

FIFA confirmed the money will go into a newly formed World Football Remission Fund, established to help finance football-related projects.

"I am delighted to see that money which was illegally siphoned out of football is now coming back to be used for its proper purposes, as it should have been in the first place," said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

"I want to sincerely thank the US Justice authorities for their efforts in this respect, for their fast and effective approach in bringing these matters to a conclusion, and also for their trust in general. The truth is that, thanks to their intervention back in 2015, we have been able to fundamentally change FIFA from a toxic organisation at the time, to a highly esteemed and trusted global sports governing body.

"Thankfully, we are well past that unfortunate period in history now and it's great to see significant funding being put at the disposal of the FIFA Foundation, which can positively impact so many people across the football world, especially through youth and community programmes."

In a separate statement, South American federation CONMEBOL confirmed it would receive $71m of the package.

CONMEBOL stated it would use these funds for youth camps, education, refereeing and coaching courses, community outreach and women's football.

Sepp Blatter has been handed a new ban from football of six years and eight months, FIFA has announced.

Disgraced former FIFA president Blatter was originally banned for eight years, reduced to six, in 2015 over breaches relating to a "disloyal payment" to ex-UEFA chief Michel Platini.

That suspension is up in October of this year, although the 85-year-old will now be barred from all football activities for a further eight years due to "various violations" of FIFA's code of ethics.

Jerome Valcke, the former FIFA general secretary who is banned from football until October 2025, has been given the same punishment on those grounds.

Both men have also been fined 1million Swiss francs (€900,000/$1.1m).

A statement issued by FIFA read: "The investigations into Messrs Blatter and Valcke covered various charges, in particular concerning bonus payments in relation to FIFA competitions that were paid to top FIFA management officials, various amendments and extensions of employment contracts, as well as reimbursement by FIFA of private legal costs in the case of Mr Valcke.

"As the previous bans from taking part in all football-related activity imposed on Messrs Blatter and Valcke by the independent ethics committee in 2015 and 2016 have not yet been purged, the bans notified today will only come into force upon the expiry of the previous bans."

In the written reasons covering the decision of the adjudicatory chamber of the ethics committee, FIFA said Blatter's breaches included "accepting and receiving extraordinary bonuses" of 23m Swiss francs, "as a result of the conflict of interest created by the allocation and execution of extraordinary bonus payments between limited top-ranking FIFA officials" between 2010 and 2014.

The investigation highlighted a scheme through which Blatter, Valcke, the late former Argentinian Football Association (AFA) president Julio Grondona and ex-FIFA finance director Markus Kattner were "allowing themselves to obtain extraordinary benefits with minimum effort".

"This vicious circle saw three of them (Blatter, Grondona and Valcke) signing the amendment contracts of the others and approving the respective extraordinary bonuses, while the fourth (Kattner) was in charge of implementing the payment of such bonuses (as well as of keeping the matter "off the books", by not reflecting the bonuses in the FIFA financial statements and not reporting them to the FIFA auditors)," the verdict read.

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been hospitalised in Switzerland, his family have confirmed.

Blatter, 84, requires a period of rest but his condition is improving, according to daughter Corinne Blatter Andenmatten.

Swiss publication Blick has reported Blatter's condition is serious but stable.

"My father is in hospital," Corinne said.

"He is getting better every day. But he needs time and rest. On behalf of my family, I ask for privacy."

Blatter also spent time in hospital in 2015 and 2016 due to health problems.

The eighth president of FIFA resigned in 2015 amid a corruption scandal in football's governing body.

He was given an eight-year ban, reduced to six on appeal in 2016, over an alleged undue payment made to former UEFA president Michel Platini in 2011. Both men have maintained they committed no wrongdoing.

Last month, FIFA issued a criminal complaint over suspected "criminal mismanagement" in a museum project set up by Blatter.

Lorenz Erni, Blatter's lawyer, described the accusations as being "baseless and vehemently repudiated".