FIFA chief Blatter faces criminal probe

ZURICH: Beleaguered FIFA president Sepp Blatter was placed under a criminal investigation in a dramatic escalation of the corruption scandal engulfing world football as would-be successor Michel Platini came under scrutiny for receiving a murky multi-million-dollar payment.

After months of probes following raids in Zurich which led to the indictment of more than a dozen top officials, Swiss investigators said their attention had now turned to actions carried out by Blatter and Platini.