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CAF President Issa Hayatou To Temporary Fill Blatter’s Shoe At FIFA

CAF President Issa Hayatou To Temporary Fill Blatter’s Shoe At FIFA

The president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Issa Hayatou has been given the reigns at FIFA on a temporary basis, following news that president Sepp Blatter was relieved of his duties in a 90-day suspension imposed on him by world football’s governing body.

This is a result of a continuing investigation into Blatter by Swiss authorities.

The 69-year-old Cameroonian will fill the vacancy as senior vice president of FIFA, as secretary general Jerome Valcke and UEFA president Michel Platini have also been suspended for 90 days during an investigation.

Hayatou was a crucial figure in Africa winning the right to and successfully hosting its first World Cup in 2010 in South Africa, but he is a character who have also been on the side of controversy.

He was reprimanded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2011 over allegations that he took money from the International Sport and Leisure (ISL) marketing company, though he denied the allegations, claiming that he had a “clear conscience” about his dealings in international football and sport.

The official statement from FIFA read as follows: “Today, in accordance with FIFA’s Code of Ethics, Joseph S. Blatter was relieved of all his duties as FIFA President following the decision of the Adjudicatory Chamber of the Independent Ethics Committee to provisionally ban him from all football activities on a national and international level.”

It continued: “Joseph S. Blatter, for the duration of the 90-day ban, is not allowed to represent FIFA in any capacity, act on the organisation’s behalf, or communicate to media or other stakeholders as a FIFA representative. As mandated by article 32 (6) of the FIFA Statutes, Issa Hayatou, as the longest-serving vice-president on FIFA’s Executive Committee, will serve as Acting President of FIFA.”