Sepp Blatter, the former head of football's global governing body FIFA, is looking forward to clearing his name at a new court hearing into allegations he made corrupt payments to French footballing great Michel Platini.
Blatter, who was president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015, told Reuters on Tuesday he was innocent and the victim of a witch hunt ahead of the appeals hearing on Monday.
Both Blatter and Platini were cleared in 2022 at a lower Swiss court following a seven-year investigation into a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.24 million) payment, a decision contested by Swiss prosecutors.
"The Federal Criminal Court in 2022 said the contract between Platini and me was correct, and I expect the new court will confirm this decision," Blatter told Reuters, adding the appeal was "absolute nonsense."
"It's a witch hunt against me, it feels like a vendetta," the 88-year-old added. "I am completely confident I will be cleared, I'm an honest man."
Blatter also said on Tuesday that he felt England should have won the hosting rights for the World Cup before the next free date in 2038 and before Saudi Arabia which will hold the 2034 edition.
"England has done a great job for the game of football and they should be rewarded," Blatter said. "They have tried since 1966 to get the World Cup back and it's a shame they didn't get it.
"They should have had it before Saudi Arabia, but it was organised in a very clever way so nobody was in opposition," he said in an interview.
Blatter said he was concerned about the increased influence of the Middle East on sports like football and Formula 1, with both having been heavily invested in by countries in the region, but said England should still apply to host the World Cup.
"They should wake up and apply again," he said.
Blatter, who left FIFA in disgrace following a corruption scandal in 2015, was also concerned about the expanding size of the World Cup, which he said was diluting the quality of the tournament.
Next year's event in the United States, Mexico and Canada has been expanded to 48 teams, up from 32 at the 2022 edition.
"It's become too big," he said. "Will it become like in grand slam tennis where everybody goes to the World Cup? What next -- 128 teams?
"I've always said there are too many teams and the quality is not the same," Blatter added. "Who loses out -- the spectators."
He feared constant expansion could eventually damage the sport.
"As long as football has 2 billion followers, then FIFA thinks they are happy," the Swiss said. "But one day there will be a stop - you cannot go and develop more football, and more players and have more money and more spectators and more stadiums."