We now have it!! Issa Hayatou named Federation Internationale de Football Association Acting President

“Blatter was relieved of all his duties as FIFA president” after the move by the FIFA ethics committee to suspend him for 90 days because he is under criminal investigation by Swiss prosecutors, FIFA said.

“The letter also demands a hearing that would allow Mr. Blatter and his lawyers to argue the merits of their case in full; before the suspension was announced, Mr. Blatter was allowed to defend himself only in a short interview with investigators”.

“More than a sense of injustice or a desire for revenge, I am driven by a profound feeling of staunch defiance”. H e did not attend the meeting of the UEFA executive committee on Thursday and has cancelled several official trips.

“We will also continue to cooperate fully with authorities and follow the internal investigation wherever it leads”, Hayatou said in a statement.

Hayatou’s appointment carries its own controversy. His shrinking election hopes now depend on whether he can overturn the 90-day ban imposed by FIFA’s Ethics Committee through an appeal process.

UEFA, however, said it backed Platini and “saw no need” for the highest-ranking vice-president to step in to assume his powers.

The interim leader of UEFA will be Spanish federation head Angel Maria Villar, who remains at risk of being sanctioned from the FIFA ethics committee in its investigation of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests.

“As I have always done since 2007, I will fulfil my obligations after consulting Uefa’s 54 member associations, which I will ask to convene shortly in Nyon. The bans come into force immediately”. Last month, Blatter’s chief aide, Jerome Valcke, another presidential hopeful, was suspended in a separate corruption scandal involving alleged black market ticket sales at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Although Platini and Blatter claim it was for work done by the former between 1999 and 2002, the nine year gap between work and payment has raised doubts.

The Swiss criminal investigation that spurred Thursday’s suspension centers on two transactions: the awarding of World Cup broadcast rights to former CONCACAF President Jack Warner – already under indictment by US officials – and a suspicious $2 million payment to Platini.