FIFA suspends Platini and Blatter

Sepp Blatter's controversial reign as the godfather of world soccer effectively came to an end on Thursday, as the FIFA president was formally suspended for 90 days by his own organization. Blatter's suspension by the ethics committee of the organization he has led since 1998 should be the final blow for the much-maligned 79-year-old and was the clearest sign yet FIFA knows it has to clear house if reform is to be achieved. Also suspended was Michel Platini, head of Europe's UEFA confederation and widely seen as the second most powerful man in the game behind Blatter. 

Following a United States Justice Department investigation into alleged widespread FIFA corruption, Blatter announced in June that he would step down once elections to appoint his successor, provisionally set for early 2016, had been carried out. Platini had been one of the frontrunners to succeed Blatter, but Thursday's suspension leaves the Frenchman's bid in tatters. The decision of FIFA's ethics committee comes in the wake of a pending criminal investigation by Switzerland's legal authorities, investigating payments made from Blatter to Platini in 2011 – for work carried out between 1998 and 2002 – totaling two million Swiss francs ($2.06 million).