(WFI) Michel Platini’s FIFA presidential hopes have been dealt another blow after FIFA rejected appeals lodged by the UEFA chief and Sepp Blatter against 90-day provisional bans pending an inquiry into a "disloyal" transaction.
The statement came from FIFA's appeals committee chaired by Larry Mussenden. It rejected the appeals of Blatter and Platini "in full".Told their appeals had failed earlier on Wednesday, they are now expected to take their cases to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Platini lodged his FIFA candidacy last month. But it will only be considered if he successfully appeals his suspension at the CAS, which seems increasingly unlikely.
Blatter was placed under criminal investigation in early October over suspicions he signed off a "disloyal" $2 million payment to Platini in 2011 and striking a World Cup TV rights contract with disgraced former FIFA vice president Jack Warner that was "unfavourable to FIFA".
The UEFA president has failed to give a proper explanation or provide documentation to back up why it took nine years for him to be paid for consultancy work he did for Blatter between 1998 and 2002.
Both men deny any wrongdoing.
Swiss authorities are probing the corruption allegations, with FIFA’s ethics investigators examining whether there was a breach of the ethics code of football’s governing body concerning "conflicts of interest".
Blatter and Platini await ethics verdicts, which could see lengthy bans from world football.
A FIFA source tells Around the Rings that their cases will almost certainly be heard later in November with verdicts to be announced before Christmas. Blatter and Platini are being given the chance to defend themselves in court-style trials.
Last week, FIFA announced that five candidates are eligible to stand in the Feb. 26 election following integrity checks.
The contenders to replace Sepp Blatter are: Prince Ali Al Hussein, Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, Jérôme Champagne, Gianni Infantino and Tokyo Sexwale.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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