Thursday's news of a 90-day suspension from all football activities could be a hammer blow for the Frenchman's ambitions of succeeding Sepp Blatter as FIFA president.
News of a 90-day suspension for UEFA president Michel Platini, as well as his contemporaries at the top of FIFA, might effectively spell the end of his bid to take over world football's governing body.
The ban for the Frenchman, as well as Sepp Blatter, Jerome Valcke and Chung Mong-Joon, came on the day on which he submitted his papers for his candidacy for the top job.
But accusations of corruption are the first serious setback in what has been a swift rise through the ranks of football administration for the legendary former player, who claims that he is being deliberately smeared.