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 Both men were suspended from their posts for 90 days on Oct. 8
pending a full investigation, engulfed by a deepening corruption
scandal as the sport faces criminal probes in Switzerland and the
United States.
The investigatory chamber of FIFA's ethics committee - acting
independently of the organization's leadership - said on Saturday it
had completed its inquiry, but did not say why it was recommending
sanctions nor what those sanctions should be.
Its report will now be passed to the committee's adjudicatory
chamber, which will decide whether investigations should be pursued
and on any potential sanctions.
"The investigatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee has
submitted its final reports containing requests for sanctions
against Joseph (Sepp) Blatter and Michel Platini to the adjudicatory
chamber chaired by Hans-Joachim Eckert," the ethics panel said the
statement.
"For reasons linked to privacy rights and the presumption of
innocence until proven guilty, the chamber will not publish details
of the concluded reports and the requested sanctions against the two
officials."
Blatter has been FIFA president since 1998. Platini has been head of
European soccer's governing body UEFA since 2007 and, until he was
suspended, had been favorite to replace Blatter in FIFA's Feb. 26
presidential election.
Platini's hopes of standing were put on hold because of his
suspension. He has appealed to the Court of Arbitration of Sport
against his provisional ban but, even if he wins and is allowed to
stand, his plans would be scuppered if Eckert's adjudicatory chamber
accepts the investigation's recommendations.
The adjudicatory chamber said in a separate statement it would
decide whether to open formal proceedings and, if necessary, on
sanctions "in due course."
FIFA's electoral committee has said Platini's registration will not
be processed while he is suspended, although it could reconsider its
position if he wins an appeal.
Platini's appeal was rejected in the first instance by FIFA's Appeal
Committee this week.
Blatter also faces criminal investigation in Switzerland over a 2
million Swiss franc ($2 million) payment from FIFA to Platini.
The payment was made in 2011 for work Platini had completed nine
years earlier, the Swiss attorney-general's office has said, adding
Platini was considered "between a witness and an accused person."
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Both men have denied wrongdoing.
The ethics committee said its chief investigator Cornel Borbely was
not involved in its investigation of Blatter as both men are Swiss.
"As the two proceedings are closely related and to avoid any
appearance of a conflict of interests, Dr Borbely also withdrew from
the proceedings against Michel Platini," it added.
Instead, Robert Torres from Guam submitted the report on Blatter and
Trinidadian Vanessa Allard compiled the report on Platini.
The ethics committee appears to have taken a tougher line against
offenders in the last year, handing out a series of long-term bans
from soccer-related activities - which includes playing, coaching
and administrative roles in the sport.
Former executive committee members and powerbrokers Jack Warner and
Chuck Blazer have been given life bans, while Reynald Temarii was
banned for eight years and Chung Mong-joon, who had planned to run
for the FIFA presidency, for six.
In another case, former Chilean federation president Harold
Mayne-Nicholls, who also compiled the technical reports on countries
which bid to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, was banned for seven
years.
On Monday, Ganesh Thapa, president of the All-Nepal Football
Association, was banned for 10 years and fined 20,000 Swiss francs,
while Viphet Sihachakr, president of the Laotian Football
Federation, received a two-year ban and 40,000 franc fine.
(Writing by Brian Homewood in Berne; Editing by Patrick Johnston and
Mark Potter)
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