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

As the corruption probe at FIFA widened, OAG representatives interrogated Blatter after FIFA's executive committee met in Zurich, the OAG said in a statement.

"Furthermore, the OAG conducted a house search at FIFA Headquarters with the support of the Federal Criminal Police. The office of the FIFA President has been searched and data seized," it added.

The Swiss attorney general's office said the investigation surrounds a TV rights deal Blatter signed with former Caribbean football chief Jack Warner in 2005.

Blatter is also suspected of "a disloyal payment" of 2 million Swiss francs (€1.8 million) to UEFA president Michel Platini, allegedly made for work performed between January 1999 and June 2002, the statement said.

FIFA cancelled a press conference with Blatter on Friday just minutes before it was due to start, offering no explanation.

He has only once left Zurich, to travel to Russia, since May, when 14 soccer and sports marketing officials were arrested on money laundering and other corruption-related charges.

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