FIFA suspends Blatter, Platini & Valcke from soccer activities

FIFA President Sepp Blatter, UEFA President Michel Platini and FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke have all been provisionally suspended for 90 days by FIFA’s adjudicatory chamber, chaired by Hans-Joachim Eckert, after being investigated over corruption allegations.

The three are banned from any soccer-related activity in the interim. They deny any wrongdoing.

While Valcke has already been put on leave by FIFA, Blatter and Platini can appeal any provisional ban to FIFA’s appeal committee and, ultimately, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).. However, the suspensions remain in force until the outcome of the appeals.

In the meantime, Cameroon’s Issa Hayatou, who himself has a shady past, will be interim FIFA president, while Angel Maria Villar of Spain, who has been investigated in the World Cup bidding probe, will run UEFA.

On the day that suspensions have been handed out, Platini today submitted his papers to stand for the FIFA presidency, has demanded an inquiry into leaks, and vows to clear his name.

Platini said:

“I have always acted and expressed myself with honesty, courage and candor, as I feel that this is my moral duty. If what is being reported regarding the intentions of the investigatory chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee is indeed true, I will stop at nothing to ensure that the truth is known. Nobody should be in any doubt as to my determination to achieve that objective”