Suspended European soccer chief Michel Platini may be able to run for president of FIFA if he wins an appeal against his 90-day ban, the world governing body said on Tuesday.
Outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter and Platini were both suspended earlier this month, plunging FIFA into even deeper turmoil as authorities in the United States and Switzerland pursue corruption investigations in which 14 people have so far been indicted.
Meeting for the first time since the suspensions of the two most powerful men in soccer, FIFA’s executive committee confirmed that the election to replace Blatter would take place at an extraordinary Congress in Zurich on Feb. 26, when members would also vote on reforming the organisation’s statutes.
That initially looked like a blow for former French midfield star Platini: a delay in the election would have given him more time to appeal, as candidates have to register by Oct. 26 and undergo an integrity test in the following 10 days.
Domenico Scala told the committee that candidates’ bids would not be processed if they were banned, FIFA said in a statement.
