Hopes fade further for Platini

Ethics panel rejects UEFA chief's appeal

Suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter and European soccer chief Michel Platini have lost their appeals against provisional 90-days bans by the global soccer body's ethics committee, FIFA said on Wednesday.

Blatter and Platini were suspended on October 8, engulfed by a deepening corruption scandal as the sport faces criminal investigations in Switzerland and the United States.

The decision by the FIFA Appeal Committee was a further blow to Frenchman Platini's hopes of standing on Feb 26. The electoral committee has said his registration will not be processed while he is suspended. Platini said he would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

"Michel Platini has full confidence that the CAS will restore  all his rights," said a statement issued by his spokesman. "Meanwhile, he remains a composed and determined candidate for the FIFA presidency.

If Platini wins his appeal at the CAS, the electoral committee has said it would review his case but there is no guarantee he would be able to stand in the election as it would depend on the timing.

Blatter said in a statement issued by his US lawyer that he was "disappointed" by the decision and would appeal "and looks forward to the opportunity to be heard, including through the presentation of evidence and argument of counsel, and thereby demonstrate he has engaged in no misconduct."

Both statements complained that the Appeal Committee took more than two weeks to announce it's decision. FIFA could not immediately be reached to comment on any delay.

Blatter also faces criminal investigation in Switzerland over a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.1 million) payment from FIFA to Platini.

FIFA's Ethics Committee has said it hopes to have completed the full investigation.Both men could then face much longer bans if found guilty of contravening FIFA's code of ethics which, in Platini's case, would mean he also loses his position as UEFA president.