Blatter and Platini to challenge 90-day Fifa ban

Sepp Blatter planned to step down early but is now challenging suspension amid corruption probe. Picture: PA

He has been suspended while Fifa’s ethics committee investigates corruption claims.

The 79-year-old Swiss was suspended on Thursday along with secretary general Jerome Valcke and vice-president Michel Platini. All three deny wrongdoing.

Mr Platini has also announced he will challenge the ban at the Fifa appeals committee.

The timing of the provisional ban could hardly be worse for Mr Platini, who wanted to run in the election to succeed Mr Blatter as president but with nominations closing on 26 October those plans lie in ruins.

Uefa’s 54-member associations will convene next Thursday in Nyon to discuss the crisis, and there is expected to be an emergency Fifa executive committee meeting in Zurich the following week.

English Football Association chair Greg Dyke has said it will drop its support for Mr Platini if the ethic committee decides there has been wrongdoing.

Mr Dyke said: “If the ethics committee reaches a conclusion that Mr Platini has not behaved properly or has behaved dishonestly then of course the FA will not support him.

“That’s why we said in our statement that we are awaiting the results of the investigation – we need to see the evidence.”

“Platini claims it’s a fix, but if they decide he has behaved improperly we will not support him.”

Mr Dyke added that if there was any finding of wrongdoing in the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups there would have to be a re-vote. “I have no doubt if the evidence comes out that a bid was won by corruption there will have to be a re-vote,” he said.

Uefa said Mr Platini “will not perform his official duties for the time being”.

He did not attend the meeting of the Uefa executive on Thursday and has cancelled several official trips.