Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini handed eight-year football bans

Lee Gormley | December 21, 2015

Blatter and Platini suspended

Long-standing FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA boss Michel Platini have both been handed immediate eight-year suspensions from all football-related activities following an ethics investigation, with the two men guilty of huge financial breaches.

The pair were found guilty of breaches which surrounded a £1.3m “disloyal payment” which was made to Platini back in 2011, but they have still denied any wrongdoing, with their footballing bans taking immediate effect.

Blatter and Platini were both also fined £33,700 ($40,000) and £54,000 ($80,000) respectively for their unlawful actions.

Substantial suspensions for corrupt duo

Blatter has been FIFA boss since 1998 and the 79-year-old had already announced recently that he was to step down and quit his role ahead of February’s presidential election, while colleague Platini was set to challenge as his successor.

The latter Frenchman, now 60 years of age, was one of the front-runners to take up the job after Blatter’s reign had finally come to an end, but the future leader of football’s governing body is now come from elsewhere. There are five candidates to take charge, including Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, Tokyo Sexwale, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, Gianni Infantino and Jerome Champagne, as voting takes place on February 27th next year.

Platini, a three-time European Footballer of the Year and former captain of the France international side, who are 11/4 with Coral to win Euro 2016 next summer on home soil, had been in charge of Europe’s governing body since 2007.