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FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA chief Michel Platini could be banned from football for six years
Baku, November 17, AZERTAC
FIFA president Sepp Blatter and his would-be successor Michel Platini could be banned from football for six years by Christmas.
The Mail on Sunday understand FIFA investigators are close to completing their inquiries over the undeclared £1.35million ‘disloyal payment’ made to Platini in 2011 for consultancy work carried out on Blatter’s behalf nine years earlier.
Blatter, 79, and UEFA president Platini, 60, are appealing against 90-day provisional bans, which can be extended by another 45 days. But FIFA ethics officials want to wrap up the case as soon as possible, handing over their file to German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert.
‘The 90-day decision was just a provisionary measure, a short, sharp shock if you like,’ said an ethics source. ‘We’re trying to reach a conclusion by Christmas, so we can have a clear situation before (the presidential election).’