GENEVA, March 17. /TASS/. Former president of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) Sepp Blatter has officially submitted an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Lausanne against last month’s decision passed by a FIFA body, CAS announced on Thursday.
"Joseph S. Blatter has filed an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the decision issued by the FIFA Appeal Committee on 16 February 2016," the CAS said in a statement posted on its official website.
"In his appeal to the CAS, Mr Blatter seeks the annulment of the decision taken by the FIFA Appeal Committee in which he was suspended from all football-related activities at national and international level for six years," according to the statement.
"A CAS arbitration procedure is in progress. First, the parties will exchange written submissions and a panel of three arbitrators will be constituted. The Panel will then issue directions with respect to the holding of a hearing," the statement added.
On March 2, FIFA announced that its Appeal Committee ruled to reduce the suspension sentences for earlier banned FIFA and UEFA presidents, Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini respectively, from eight to six years.
Although the decisions were announced on Wednesday, the hearings into Platini and Blatter’s appeals were held in Zurich on February 15 and 16 correspondingly.
In response to the decision made by the FIFA Appeal Committee, both Blatter and Platini announced that they would file appeals with the CAS in Lausanne. Platini moved on the very same day submitting a relevant appeal with the judicial body in Lausanne.
In early October, Blatter and Platini were suspended for the period of 90 days from their posts as part of the investigation into corruption allegations against them. Among a number of corruption allegations, Blatter is suspected of a disloyal payment of 2 million Swiss francs to UEFA President Platini in February 2011.
The adjudicatory chamber of the independent FIFA Ethics Committee held hearings into corruption charges on December 17 and 18, in regard to Blatter and Platini respectively, and on December 21 they were both suspended for the period of eight years from all football-related activities.
The Ethics Committee also subjected both of the football executives to financial fines, obliging Blatter to pay 50,000 Swiss francs (over $50,300) and Platini - 80,000 Swiss francs (over $80,500).