FIFA in chaos as Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini hit with 90-day suspensions

FIFA’s ethics committee handed out the punishments as inquiries continue into a £1.35 million payment made to Platini in 2011.

[BEST TWEETS: FIFA collapses as Platini, Blatter banned]

[FIFA CHAOS: Who's been banned? Why? What does it mean for football?]

Elsewhere, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke received the same suspension, while former FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon was banned for six years and fined 100,000 Swiss Francs.

Issa Hayatou, the head of African football, will serve as acting president. The former Cameroonian athlete was reprimanded by the International Olympic Committee over bribery allegations in 2011.

[PROFILE: Who is Issa Hayatou, FIFA's new acting president?]

In the moments prior to the announcement, Platini had lashed out as reports swirled around about his impending suspension.

“This deliberate leak – which is insidious in nature and has come about in an unacceptable manner – is essentially an attempt to damage my reputation,” said the Frenchman.

“Over the last few weeks, I have stressed my willingness to cooperate fully with the authorities carrying out the various enquiries in compliance with the strictest procedural rules. FIFA, on the other hand, has clearly flouted those rules.”

A statement from FIFA's ethics committee said: "The grounds for these decisions are the investigations that are being carried out by the investigatory chamber of the ethics committee."

They added that the 90-day bans could be extended by an additional 45 days if necessary.

Despite protesting their innocence, Blatter, Valcke and Platini are banned from all football activity in the meantime.

In an emailed statement, Blatter's lawyers said: "President Blatter was disappointed that the Ethics Committee did not follow the Code of Ethics and Disciplinary Code, both of which provide for an opportunity to be heard.

"Further, the Ethics Committee based its decision on a misunderstanding of the actions of the Attorney General in Switzerland, which has opened an investigation but brought no charge against the president."

Hayatou stressed in his own statement that he would only serve as FIFA president on an interim basis until a new president is chosen on February 26 next year.

Swiss prosecutors last month opened a criminal investigation into Blatter over a Caribbean World Cup TV rights contract he signed, and the £1.35m payment to Platini.

The Swiss attorney general has described the position of Platini, a former French midfield star, as being between that of a witness and an accused person.

Blatter has been president of FIFA since 1998 and has worked for the organisation for 40 years, starting as a technical director before becoming secretary general under former president Joao Havelange in 1981.

The 79-year-old Swiss told a German magazine this week that the Swiss criminal investigation against him was "not correct".

Valcke, Blatter's right-hand man for the past eight years, was suspended last month after allegations he was involved in a scheme to sell 2014 World Cup tickets at a marked-up price. Valcke denied the charges.

If Platini is not able to overturn his ban and join the election race, it would leave Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan as the clear favourite, unless other candidates now emerge to take advantage of the Frenchman's troubles.

South African Tokyo Sexwale, who was imprisoned with Nelson Mandela during the apartheid era and later became a politician and businessman, has said he is considering running.

"It was reported last night that the investigatory chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee intends to recommend to its adjudicatory chamber that I be given a 90-day suspension.

"This is clearly an extremely serious matter – all the more so given that this information appears to have come from an official FIFAsource, despite the fact that the Ethics Committee, which is supposed to act with full independence, has not yet issued its decision.

"This deliberate leak – which is insidious in nature and has come about in an unacceptable manner – is essentially an attempt to damage my reputation.

"Over the last few weeks, I have stressed my willingness to cooperate fully with the authorities carrying out the various enquiries in compliance with the strictest procedural rules. FIFA, on the other hand, has clearly flouted those rules.

"I have always acted and expressed myself with honesty, courage and candour, as I feel that this is my moral duty. If what is being reported regarding the intentions of the investigatory chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee is indeed true, I will stop at nothing to ensure that the truth is known. Nobody should be in any doubt as to my determination to achieve that objective.

"In the meantime, a dispassionate, independent and impartial judicial body needs to shine a light on the events that led the FIFA Ethics Committee to open these investigatory proceedings.

"This morning I submitted the letters of support that are required in order to stand as a candidate for the presidency of FIFA. 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. I will also meet with all the other confederations and FIFA’s member associations in the spirit of openness that has always characterised my actions.

"I am certain that we will overcome this difficulty with full transparency and the unity that gives football its strength."