Fifa president Sepp Blatter and European soccer boss Michel Platini were both banned from soccer for eight years on Monday for ethics violations, leaving the global game leaderless as it struggles wit
.jpg "Suspended FIFA President Sepp Blatter attends a news conference in Zurich. (Photo: AP)")
Fifa president Sepp Blatter and European soccer boss Michel Platini were both banned from soccer for eight years on Monday for ethics violations, leaving the global game leaderless as it struggles with a swirl of corruption cases.
The pair had been suspended in October while an investigation was carried out into a 2.02 million payment that soccer’s global governing body made to Mr Platini in 2011, with Mr Blatter’s approval.
The decision means th-at Mr Blatter’s 17 years at the helm of world soccer will end in disgrace, and spells the end of Mr Platini’s hopes of replacing the 79-year-old in a presidential election in February. The Swiss ca-me out swinging, holding a news conference to tell reporters that he was sorry only that the president of Fifa was being treated as a “pu-nching ball”.
