ZURICH (AP) Sepp Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini, the man who had been favored to take over as FIFA leader, were both suspended for 90 days Thursday, plunging soccer's governing body deeper into crisis.
Blatter and Platini were suspended by the FIFA ethics committee in the wake of a Swiss criminal investigation. The decision seemingly ends Platini's bid to succeed Blatter as FIFA president in the emergency election in February.
Another presidential hopeful, Chung Mong-joon, was suspended for six years in a separate case and FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke was banned for 90 days.
The suspensions can be extended by up to 45 days.