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Sepp Blatter, UEFA President Michel Platini Suspended By FIFA Ethics Committee

FIFA President Sepp Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini "came out swinging" on Thursday after FIFA's own ethics committee "handed both men humiliating bans" from all int'l and national football activities, according to Josh Burrows of the LONDON TIMES. Blatter and Platini, who are both under criminal investigation in Switzerland, "promptly issued statements to insist that they have done nothing wrong," while accusing the ethics committee of failing to follow FIFA rules. The suspensions for Blatter and Platini "will last for at least 90 days with an option to extend them for another 45 days," which would keep both men out of all FIFA activities until the second week of January at the earliest and late February at the latest. Blatter and Platini were "quick to turn their fire on the ethics committee," with Blatter's lawyer "accusing the committee of not following its own disciplinary code." Blatter's lawyer said, "The ethics committee based decisions on a misunderstanding of the actions of the attorney general in Switzerland. Blatter looks forward to the opportunity to present evidence that will demonstrate that he didn't engage in any misconduct." Blatter and Platini will be replaced in the interim at FIFA and UEFA respectively by Confederation of African Football President Issa Hayatou, who has led the organization since '88, and Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) President Ángel María Villar. FIFA's independent ethics committee on Thursday also issued a six-year ban for Chung Mong-joon, a South Korean tycoon who is also a candidate for the FIFA presidency. Chung's ban "is in connection with the bidding process" for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in Russia and Qatar, respectively. FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke has "also been suspended for 60 days" (LONDON TIMES, 10/8).

FEARS OF SPLIT: In London, Moore & Atkins reported FIFA threatened to split apart on Thursday after UEFA defied the world governing body and "refused to suspend" Platini. Europe's defiance came after Platini and Blatter faced the end of their careers in football "following their suspension for 90 days." But Klaus Stöhlker, a public relations professional who has spoken for Blatter in the past, suggested that the FIFA chief "would not appeal his case" and would instead take "a long holiday." UEFA delivered its response just as Blatter was making his exit. It said in a statement, "Uefa's executive committee expressed its full confidence in Uefa president Michel Platini and stands fully behind him." It added that Europe would not replace him as president "at this time." In a statement, Platini said that he was "driven by a profound feeling of staunch defiance," adding that the action was designed to "crush" his campaign to be FIFA president. Platini: "I am more determined than ever to defend myself before the relevant judicial bodies." The refusal of UEFA to obey a FIFA edict is a "serious blow" to FIFA's authority, "which leaves the way open for further sanctions and a possible schism in world football" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 10/8).
 
'INSIDIOUS' LEAKS: The London TELEGRAPH reported Platini insisted reports that he was to be suspended by FIFA's ethics committee were "insidious" leaks and "an attempt to damage my reputation" -- before "being banned for 90 days 15 minutes later" (TELEGRAPH, 10/8). In London, Tom Peck reported FIFA Ethics Committee Adjudicatory Chamber Chair Hans-Joachim Eckert "took the decision to ban" Blatter, Platini and Valcke "in the wake of allegations made against them by a Swiss police investigation into corruption." The news came just minutes after Platini "announced he had submitted his required five nominations from FIFA nations to run" in February’s election. Hayatou "has previously been the subject of allegations over ticketing and marketing rights scandals" (INDEPENDENT, 10/8).

NEW BOSS: The AP's Gerald Imray reported Hayatou has "ruled African soccer for 27 years," and he "comes with his own set of baggage, including previous corruption allegations and a reprimand" by the IOC. Hayatou also "has health issues, managing a serious kidney illness that requires regular dialysis sessions." After being confirmed as acting president, Hayatou was "quick to say he will not seek the job permanently" (AP, 10/8). In London, David Conn reported Blatter and Platini "join the crowded roll-call of the banned, arrested, indicted, suspended or under investigation, in a multiple pile-up which has wrecked and ruined the authority of this once-impregnable organisation." It "looks like fantasy for FIFA to believe it can continue with the parallel universe of a process to reform itself from within." FIFA is "nowhere near ready for an election of a president." No future "can be charted without the starting point of a proper, non-delusional recognition of the catastrophic state they are in." The kind of process "now being increasingly talked about as the only credible solution for a morass of scandal on this scale" is a "temporary handover to an independent body which would oversee the necessary reforms and restructuring" (GUARDIAN, 10/8).

MAINTAINING SUPPORT: The GUARDIAN reported the FA has "yet to drop its support" of Platini for the FIFA presidency despite the 90-day suspension. The FA threw its weight behind Platini in the summer, "leading to disquiet in some quarters that it had been too hasty in declaring an interest." The FA issued a statement following Platini's suspension, saying, "The FA committed this summer to supporting Mr Platini in his bid to become the next president of Fifa. At the FA board meeting last week, we decided that remained our position while inquiries into certain allegations were being investigated. We now await the results of both the ethics committee inquiry and the investigation of the Swiss attorney general" (GUARDIAN, 10/8). 

BLATTER DISAPPOINTED: REUTERS' David Ingram reported Blatter's lawyers said that he is disappointed that FIFA's ethics committee "did not speak with him before provisionally suspending him." His lawyers said in a statement, "President Blatter was disappointed that the Ethics Committee did not follow the Code of Ethics and Disciplinary Code, both of which provide for an opportunity to be heard." Blatter's lawyers said that he was "looking forward to presenting evidence that will prove he did not engage in any misconduct" (REUTERS, 10/8).

COLLAPSE CONTINUES: In London, Owen Gibson wrote the move by the ethics committee "represents the latest stage in the slow-motion collapse" of the FIFA house of cards since U.S. prosecutors sent the organization "spiralling into crisis in May," though the extent to which FIFA "remains mired in chaos" is reflected in the fact that Hayatou was once censured by the IOC "over bribery claims, which he denied, and recently changed the statutes" of the CAF to allow him to retain the presidency he has held since '88. Platini had submitted his papers early Thursday morning to stand as a candidate for the FIFA presidency, "including the five nominations required, but his hopes of succeeding Blatter appear to have been dealt a terminal blow." He "technically remains a candidate but it is unclear whether he will be able to pass the integrity check those standing must undergo" (GUARDIAN, 10/8).

BACH SPEAKS OUT: Moore & Atkins reported in a separate piece the suspensions provoked an "extraordinary statement" from IOC President Thomas Bach, who called for FIFA "to be taken over by someone outside football." Bach: "Enough is enough. FIFA must realize that ... this is also a structural problem and will not be solved simply by the election of a new president. They should also be open for a credible external presidential candidate of high integrity to accomplish the necessary reforms" (FT, 10/8).

TAINTED REPUTATION: REUTERS' Brian Homewood opined Blatter "wanted to be remembered" as the FIFA president who turned football into a "truly global sport, and a catalyst for development, peace and social change." History is "not likely to be so kind to the 79-year-old Swiss." Instead, his name "is likely to be associated with the succession of corruption scandals which occurred on his watch." Although he "strenuously denied his own involvement, those scandals finally caught up with him on Thursday." Blatter "always denied any knowledge of his colleagues' troubles and trotted out a set of standard ripostes." He spoke of "little devils" that infested the sport, and "constantly reminded his critics that 300 million people were directly involved in football" (REUTERS, 10/8).

ON ESPN: It is a “raging leadership crisis at the moment at FIFA where embattled President Sepp Blatter as expected was suspended for 90 days today by the FIFA Ethics Committee but also two leading candidates to succeed Blatter were also suspended,” according to ESPN’s Bob Ley. Platini was suspended for 90 days and Chung for six years, with “all of these bans over ethical issues or pending investigations.” ESPN FC’s Gabriele Marcotti said Platini got suspended “because it's linked, of course, to what got Blatter suspended in the first place, this allegation that Blatter made a payment to Platini in 2011 which is currently being investigated by the Swiss attorney general.” The scheduled FIFA presidential race is set to be voted on in February but right “it's an absolute mess. By Oct. 26, if you want to run for the FIFA presidency, you need to file your papers and you need to have five nominations. Platini has done that, he did it this morning. Prince Ali bin Hussein is likely to do it, he's likely to get the five nominations. As of right now, there's nobody else” because Chung Mong-joon is “out of the race.” Marcotti: “The big question is what happens if these two candidates – Prince Ali and Platini -- enter the race and the suspension is extended to February when they have the actual election and will they elect somebody who is suspended” (“OTL,” ESPN, 10/8).

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