Blatter and Platini banned from football for eight years

FIFA President Sepp Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini have been banned from football for life following an investigation by the FIFA Ethics Committee.

The two most powerful officials in world football were convicted of a “blackmail” $2 million transaction in 2011. This was the amount that Blatter gave to Platini without a satisfactory explanation.

The ban comes into effect immediately despite both Blatter and Platini maintaining their innocence. The two officials claim the money was paid to Platini when he worked as an adviser to Blatter from 1998 to 2002.

Blatter (right) and Platini were banned from football for eight years. Photo: AFP.

Platini said the payment was not recorded in the contract, but both he and Blatter insisted it was legal under Swiss law.

Blatter and Platini appeared before the adjudicatory chamber of the independent FIFA Ethics Committee headed by judge Hans-Joachim Eckert last week. The pair were found guilty in a 50-page indictment of “conflict of interest, improper payment of income and failure to cooperate with the investigation” and were previously fined $50,194 and $80,430, respectively.

Blatter has announced that he will step down as FIFA president after the organization's February 2016 election. The 79-year-old Swiss businessman has held the position since 1998.

Meanwhile, the 60-year-old former French footballer Michel Platini was once expected to succeed Blatter. However, since the scandal over the $2 million illegal payment was exposed, Platini has lost the trust of UEFA, the organization he has led since 2007. On November 11, FIFA removed Platini from the list of candidates for the FIFA presidency.

According to VNE