Fifa corruption: Panel ‘requests sanctions’ against duo

The Fifa ethics committee probing allegations of corruption against suspended president Sepp Blatter and his would-be successor, Michel Platini, requested on Saturday that sanctions be levelled against both men.

Citing privacy and the presumption of innocence, the committee said it would not disclose the nature of the punishments requested against the two men, who for years were the most powerful figures in world football.

However, the announcement sparked an angry response from Platini’s lawyer, who said that Fifa had “lost all credibility”.

The committee, known as the investigatory chamber of Fifa’s independent ethics watchdog, said it had submitted its final report to the body’s judgement arm, which will weigh up the recommendations.

The fallout from the report could prove massive for the future of world football’s governing body, including the possibility of permanently derailing Platini’s candidacy to lead Fifa.

Final decision looming The investigatory chamber said in a statement that its final report contained “requests for sanctions against Joseph Blatter and Michel Platini.”

A separate statement from the adjudicatory chamber confirmed that it had received the reports and will study the findings “carefully.”

The judgement chamber said it would “decide in due course about whether to institute formal adjudicatory proceedings against Joseph S. Blatter and Michel Platini.”

The adjudicatory body has in the past recommended suspensions of several years, or even life, but there was no indication as to the severity of the punishments requested against Blatter and Platini.

“It is a troubling coincidence!” Thibaud d’Ales, representing Platini, said on Saturday.

“The day after our appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against Michel Platini’s provisional suspension, the internal Fifa investigation is suddenly finished for Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter, even though the latter has been accused of more things.

“It’s farcical. It would be laughable if we were not talking about the future of the biggest non-governmental institution in the world. “Fifa has lost all credibility. A decision taken by judges who don’t respect their own rules has no value.”

Both Blatter and Platini were provisionally suspended by the ethics committee in October for 90 days. The moves came after Swiss prosecutors opened an investigation into possible criminal mismanagement at Fifa during Blatter’s tenure, including evidence of a murky $2 million payment made to Platini in 2011, reportedly for work he did a decade earlier.