Switzerland's chief economic crimes prosecutor was suspended last week while leading an investigation into corruption linked to FIFA, the federal prosecutor's office said Friday.
Soccer officials under criminal suspicion include former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, German soccer great Franz Beckenbauer and Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the chairman of Paris Saint-Germain and Qatar-owned BeIN Media Group. They deny wrongdoing and have not been charged.
“This decision is based on a risk assessment which focuses, in particular, on protecting [the attorney general's office] as an institution and protecting the criminal proceedings it leads,” the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement.