Christmas came early for millions of soccer fans across the world on December 21st when FIFA boss Sepp Blatter and his UEFA counterpart Michel Platini were finally banned from the sport. What’s even a better scenario for fans is that the pair has been suspended for eight years rather than a nominal slap on the wrist. Many critics believe the two got off lightly though and feel a jail sentence would have been more appropriate for violating FIFA’s ethics regulations. Blatter was also fined the equivalent to $40,000 while Platini was hit with an $80,000 fine.

Blatter and Platini were originally banned back in October while the FIFA Ethics Committee investigated a $2 million payment in 2011 from Blatter to Platini. The pair claimed that Blatter owed the money due to work Platini did for him a decade earlier. However, there was no record of any such deal and the two former bosses said there was a legal, oral contract in place regarding the money. But even if this was true, the owing payment was never mentioned or recorded in FIFA’s annual bookwork.
This finally appears to be the end for the 79-year-old Blatter of Switzerland who has been accused of corruption for years.

Ironically, he created the FIFA Ethics Committee and they were the ones who ultimately banned him. In typical delusional fashion, Blatter believes that he’s above the law and stated that the Ethics Committee can’t go against the president. In addition, he’ll now waste more time and money by appealing the decision and taking it to the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport).

This seems a ridiculous move since Blatter’s official 17-year reign of incompetence was scheduled to come to an end in February of 2016 when a new FIFA President is to be elected. The good news for fans is that the 60-year-old Platini now has no hopes of taking over the position from his former cohort. Blatter has spent almost 40 years at FIFA in one capacity or another and has been accused of turning a blind eye while the organization has run rampant with corruption and dubious World Cup hosting decisions.

The attorney general’s office in Switzerland opened a criminal investigation into his actions and the payment of money to Platini. Prosecutors are also looking into the 2022 World Cup which was awarded to the wealthy Gulf nation of Qatar which has no soccer tradition. If the Ethics Committee had found that the money given to Platini from Blatter was a bribe then the pair would have been banned for life. Instead, the two were found guilty of conflict of interest and not following FIFA regulations.

The Ethics Committee stated that Blatter’s actions were, “an abusive execution of his position as President of FIFA.” In addition, the group didn’t really believe there had been a verbal agreement in place and Platini abused his power as a member of FIFA’s Executive Committee and as a FIFA Vice-President. “Mr Platini failed to act with complete credibility and integrity.” It stated. Blatter and Platini have been banned from all football-related activity, but will be allowed to attend games if they buy tickets.

Perhaps the best quote from the ongoing FIFA mess came from British MP Damian Collins who said, “The fish rots from the head down and we know how rotten the head of FIFA was.”