Fifa Crisis: Sepp Blatter faces criminal investigation after being setup by Platini

Swiss prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Sepp Blatter, the head of world soccer body FIFA, on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and misappropriation, the Swiss attorney general's office said on Friday.

It said Blatter was interrogated after a meeting of FIFA's executive committee in Zurich, and authorities carried out a search at FIFA headquarters on Friday.

"The office of the FIFA President has been searched and data seized," the office of the attorney general (OAG) said.

It was the first time that authorities investigating corruption in the world's most popular sport had pointed the finger directly at Blatter, the 79-year-old Swiss who has run its powerful governing body since 1998.

He has denied wrongdoing, and his U.S. attorney said he was cooperating with the Swiss probe.

A source close to FIFA said that as Blatter has not been arrested, charged or indicted, it would probably be for him to decide whether he stays in his post until February, when he is due to step down.

However, the source said: “It is over for him now, it is finished."

In a sign of concern over the implications of the deepening investigation, Russia was quick to say that it would not affect its hosting of the 2018 World Cup, one of the biggest and lucrative events in sport.

FIFA's awarding of the 2018 and 2022 tournaments to Russia and Qatar is one of the strands under scrutiny from U.S. and Swiss authorities investigating the alleged corruption in the organization -- a source of concern for powerful sponsors like McDonald's Corp, Coca-Cola and Visa.

The scandal exploded in May, when 14 soccer officials and sports marketing executives were indicted.