Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini have been provisionally banned from football for 90 days by the FIFA Ethics Committee. Secretary General Jérôme Valcke, who had already been placed on leave, has received the same punishment.The embattled Blatter was set to step down by March of 2016, ahead of fresh elections to find his successor. Platini had been considered the front-runner, but this suspension places his bid in significant peril.The bans remain provisional and can be appealed against. Until then, however, they are banned from any football activity.Former FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon, also a challenger for the presidency, has been banned for six years and fined 100,000 Swiss Francs.The statement reads:The adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee chaired by Hans Joachim Eckert has provisionally banned FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, UEFA President and FIFA Vice-President Michel Platini, and FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke (who has already been put on leave by his employer FIFA) for a duration of 90 days.The duration of the bans may be extended for an additional period not exceeding 45 days. The former FIFA Vice-President Chung Mong-joon has been banned for six years and fined CHF 100,000. During this time, the above individuals are banned from all football activities on a national and international level. The bans come into force immediately.The grounds for these decisions are the investigations that are being carried out by the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee. The chairman of the chamber is Dr Cornel Borbély. The investigation into Joseph S. Blatter is being carried out by Robert Torres, the investigation into Michel Platini by Vanessa Allard.The Ethics Committee is unable to comment on the details of the decisions until they become final, due to the provisions of article 36 (Confidentiality) of the FIFA Code of Ethics.The full statement can be found here.
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