Berlin: Suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter says the Ethics Committee investigation into corruption allegations is "like a Catholic Inquisition". Blatter again denied involvement in corruption and said he should not have trusted officials at football's world body.


Sepp Blatter. Pic/AFP

"What I can say about myself: I am an honest person, and I've had too much confidence," Blatter told German broadcaster ARD. The 79-year-old has again been in the spotlight with a BBC claim that he was aware of corrupt practises within FIFA. A BBC investigation broadcast this week alleged that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has evidence which casts doubt on Blatter's denials that he knew about $100 million in bribes paid by sports marketing company ISL to FIFA officials during the 1990s in return for television rights deals. Blatter has been suspended by FIFA's ethics committee since October after Swiss prosecutors opened an investigation into alleged criminal mismanagement at FIFA during Blatter's tenure.