In 2012, Blatter was key to empowering a tougher and more independent FIFA ethics committee that he now insists cannot remove an elected president. With a large bandage on his face, Blatter arrived at FIFA headquarters shortly after 8 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) in a chauffeur-driven car for a hearing that was scheduled to start at 9 a.m. A spokesman for Blatter, Thomas Renggli, said the Swiss official has had a minor procedure to treat a skin problem on his right cheek. In a Swiss television interview last month, Blatter said it is “humiliating” for a FIFA president to be barred from office by his own ethics committee.