Blatter to Fight Eight-Year FIFA Ban

Disgraced FIFA boss Sepp Blatter plans to appeal his eight-year ban, his lawyer told AFP Sunday, following in the footsteps of former Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) chief Michel Platini in a battle to clear his name.

"We will appeal it, of course," Blatter's U.S.-based attorney Richard Cullen confirmed to AFP in an email.

The response comes after a FIFA ethics judge announced Monday that Blatter and Platini had been banned from soccer for eight years.

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Both Blatter and Platini were found guilty of breaching FIFA’s ethics code when Blatter payed Platini US$2 million in 2011.

Platini’s lawyer, also suspended for eight years for his role in the alleged scam, has declared that he would launch an appeal on behalf of his client.

Though the two men were found to have breached FIFA’s ethics code, the ruling does not declare them guilty of corruption charges, which would have carried a lifelong ban from the sport.

In addition to the temporary ban, Blatter was fined US$50,000 and Platini US$80,000.

Platini withdrew from the race for soccer’s top job earlier this week to dedicate himself to his defence, he told French sports newspaper L'Equipe.

The post was vacated when Blatter stepped down amid the multimillion dollar scandal which has seen dozens of soccer officials charged on corruption charges.

Blatter himself was never arrested.

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