The headline reads “Independent Ethics Committee bans several football officials”, as FIFA stays defiant on naming names even to the death.
Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini, Jerome Valcke and Chung Mong-joon have all been banned by the Hans Joachim Eckert-run Ethics Comittee, with the first trio getting 90 days away from all soccer activities and former VP Mong-joon seeing a six-year ban.
[ EDWARDS: The case for firing Klinsmann (with a U.S. loss Saturday) ]
Blatter, Platini and Valcke could see an additional 45 days away on this charge, which would bring them right up to the next FIFA Presidential Election in February.
FIFA was sure to indicate in its press release that, of course, this is the Ethics Committee’s decision and not based on the investigations by Swiss and U.S. authorities (Commence eye-rolling). They also want to make sure you know which heinous villains are personally attacking Blatter and Platini:
While Blatter and Valcke’s fates have seemed-- key word: seemed, this is FIFA -- sealed for a great deal of time, this suspension further dents Platini’s chances at the presidency. UEFA’s boss has been given every benefit of the doubt by European pundits, but looks unable to escape rumors pertaining to his actions regarding the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.
Additionally, we should point out that while Blatter does in fact seemed doomed by international investigations, anything is possible with FIFA. While we await his legal status, it’s always possible the “innocent” administration wags its finger at all of us by making moves outside of the Ethics Committee’s decision.