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CORRUPTION

Blatter biography gets March release date

An authorized biography of Sepp Blatter written by the shamed Fifa president's former spokesman will be released next month, the publisher said on Tuesday, four days before an election to choose Blatter's successor.

Blatter biography gets March release date
Sepp Blatter Photo: Valeriano di Domenico/AFP

“It is really a journey through Sepp Blatter's life,” said Alain Diezig of publisher Werd&Weber.
   
“Mission Football”, which includes many photos, was written by Thomas Renggli, who served as Blatter's spokesman at Fifa before resigning last September.
   
“Mr. Renggli has some very personal information from Mr. Blatter,” Diezig told AFP.
   
The German draft is currently undergoing final edits with publication expected in the coming weeks, while an English translation is due out in June, the publisher further said.
   
Diezig added that the book charts Blatter's early years in his home Swiss canton of Valais, his start in sports management and his rise “up the Fifa hierarchy”.
   
He said the project began long before May 2015, when the unprecedented crisis engulfing Fifa began with the arrests of football executives by Swiss police during a dawn raid in Zurich.
   
The book touches on the crisis and Renggli may be planning to add a final section following Friday's Fifa congress vote, where the next president of world football will be chosen.
   
“I think Mr. Renggli wanted to include the latest developments,” Diezig said.
   
Blatter, the most prominent casualty of the vast scandal within Fifa, was banned from football for eight years over ethics violations.
   
He has appealed that ban, with a decision expected on Tuesday.

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CORRUPTION

Barçagate: Police raid FC Barcelona offices and arrest former president

Police raided the offices of FC Barcelona on Monday, carrying out several arrests just six days ahead of the club's presidential elections, a Catalan regional police spokesman told AFP.

Barçagate: Police raid FC Barcelona offices and arrest former president
Barcelona's former president Josep Maria Bartomeu is among the arrested. Photo: Josep Lago/AFP

Spain's Cadena Ser radio said one of those arrested was former club president Josep Maria Bartomeu, who resigned in October, along with CEO Oscar Grau and the club's head of legal services.

But the police refused to confirm names, saying only “arrests are taking place” and adding that the operation was being run by officers from the financial crimes unit.

“We are in the process of carrying out an operation right now with agents of the financial crimes unit,” the police spokesman told AFP.

According to reports in the Spanish media, the operation is linked to last year's investigation into the 'BarçaGate' scandal, which saw the club deny hiring a company to criticise current and former players on social media to improve the image of the then-president Bartomeu.

Cadena Ser said Barca paid €1 million in six separate invoices to the company I3 Ventures, with whom the club have since cut ties.

Bartomeu resigned in October, after mounting pressure following months of controversy and a dramatic decline in performances on the pitch.

His successor is due to be elected on Sunday, when club members will choose between the final three candidates, Joan Laporta, Toni Freixa and Victor Font.

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