Blatter and Platini remains suspended as both loses FIFA appeals

Michel Platini (left) and Sepp Blatter (right)

Sepp Blatter’s latest effort to keep hold of power at FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, has failed. On Wednesday, FIFA announced that it had rejected appeals by Mr. Blatter, the organization’s president, and Michel Platini, president of the European soccer confederation, challenging the 90-day suspensions imposed on them last month in the wake of reports about a financial transaction between the two men for which Mr. Blatter is under criminal investigation (You can read the story here).
The decision means Mr. Blatter, who has led FIFA since 1998, remains forbidden to set foot in the organization’s headquarters, a short walk from his apartment in Zurich, or to conduct any business related to the sport while an internal review of the transaction continues; that review is expected to conclude before the 90 days expire, in early January.
Mr. Platini, too, is barred from the sport for that time, though the European confederation has expressed some support for him as the organization’s vice president has assumed his daily responsibilities. In the interim, the men have the option of appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, The New York Times reports.