FIFA bans Blatter and Platini for eight years

According to the adjudicatory chamber of FIFA’s Ethics Committee, a payment of CHF 2,000,000 from FIFA to Michel Platini in 2011 was without any legal basis.

Consequently, the committee, which is chaired by Hans-Joachim Eckert, has decided to ban FIFA President Joseph Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini for a period of eight years. In addition to the ban, Blatter and Platini were also fined CHF 50,000 and 80,000 respectively.

The committee couldn’t establish that the former two most powerful men in football had breached FIFA’s rules on corruption and bribery. Instead, it concluded that they had breached a number of other FIFA rules, including those on offering and accepting gifts and other benefits, conflict of interest, loyalty and general rules of conduct.

During its hearings, the committee didn’t find any convincing basis for the payment and rejected the explanations from Blatter and Platini that they had a valid ‘oral contract’ for work done around 2000.

Unless the Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, overturns the decision made by the Etichs Committee, the ban will put an end to Platini’s hopes of being able to run for the FIFA presidency at the end of February.