FIFA bans Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini for 8 years after ethics inquiry

Sepp Blatter
(Image credit: Getty Images)

On Monday, a FIFA ethics committee in Switzerland banned the outgoing president of the world soccer governing body, Sepp Blatter, plus his presumptive heir, Michel Platini, for eight years after finding them guilty of ethics violations. The ban, which prohibits two of the most powerful men in soccer from engaging in any soccer-related activities, probably ends Platini's bid to replace Blatter when FIFA holds a special vote on his replacement in February and derails Blatter's plans to helm that FIFA congress. Both men are expected to appeal the ban to a FIFA appellate committee and the Court of Arbitration of Sport.

Blatter and Platini were judged guilty of violating FIFA rules on conflicts of interest, bribery, and breach of loyalty, particularly regarding a $2 million payment Blatter had authorized for Platini in 2011. Blatter, 79, was first elected FIFA president in 1998, and he hired Platini, 60, as a special adviser from 1999 to 2002. The men say the 2011 payment was back pay for that earlier arrangement, as specified in an unwritten "gentleman's agreement," but the 2011 transaction caught investigators' attention because it came a few weeks before Blatter began his bid for re-election to a fourth term as FIFA president. UEFA, the European soccer governing body, led by Platini, supported Blatter's re-election, and Blatter won after his only challenger withdrew.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.