FIFA Bans Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini For Eight Years

The Ethics Committee, the world’s official governing body for football, officially announced the ban of FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini for eight years today. This is after the committee found the pair guilty of conflicts of interest and breach of loyalty and gifts but were cleared of bribery and corruption allegations.

The official FIFA statement reads: “The adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee chaired by Mr Hans‑Joachim Eckert has banned Mr Joseph S. Blatter, President of FIFA, for eight years and Mr Michel Platini, Vice-President and member of the Executive Committee of FIFA and President of UEFA, for eight years from all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) on a national and international level. The bans come into force immediately.”

The pair had disciplinary hearings before FIFA ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert last week for a supposed $2 million payout to Platini that was signed off by Blatter. The pair stated that the payment was an agreement that was worked for between 1999 and 2002 by Platini when he was a technical adviser for FIFA. Because of this allegation, both men were provisionally suspended for 90 days back in October after appealing the decision.

Blatter vowed after the decision was made today to appeal the charges against him and that he would not back down in saying, “We will go once again to the Appeal Committee. I’m a Swiss citizen. In the Swiss law you wouldn’t be suspended for eight years — you will have had to commit something very, very important.” Moreover, he added, “I am fighting not for me, but as the elected President of FIFA … and they have cut me off. We have to defend ourselves, I hope Platini feels the same.”

Blatter announced back in June that he would be stepping down as president of FIFA once a new election took place. This announcement saw Platini possibly coming out as the next president during the February 2016 elections, even though they may not be the case now.