BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Switzerland's attorney general has defended his team's handling of its four-year FIFA investigation after the lead prosecutor was removed from duty.
Michael Lauber says federal prosecutors have come "under attack every day by the lawyers" in a case comprising 25 different investigations.
Confirming he will seek another four-year term, Lauber says "we have to follow the Swiss (penal) code."
He says "some" of the 25 cases could be resolved next year, by being closed or sent to court.
Criminal proceedings are open against former FIFA officials Sepp Blatter and Jerome Valcke, German soccer great Franz Beckenbauer and Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi. They deny wrongdoing and have not been charged.
Lauber called the rare news conference to address "Football Leaks" reports of his 2016 meetings with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
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