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LONDON. – Common sense has prevailed following the news former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has lost his appeal against a six-year ban from football.Blatter had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and being banned over ethics breaches when his long reign as the most powerful man in the sport ended in a corruption scandal.

The 80-year-old Swiss was found to have made a £1.3m “disloyal payment” to former UEFA boss Michel Platini.

Both have denied wrongdoing, but both of them have now been banished from the game. Blatter said: “I take note of the verdict of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The way the case progressed, no other verdict could be expected.”

The Court of Arbitration for Sport described the payment from Blatter to Platini as “an undue gift” with “no contractual basis”. The pair were initially banned from football for eight years but this was then reduced to six by FIFA’s appeals committee. Platini’s ban was the cut to four years in May. The rogue pair cooked up a tale that the payment back in 2011 was made for consultancy work the Frenchman had carried out for Blatter between 1998 and 2002. They had a “gentleman’s agreement” on when the balance was to be settled.

Do me a favour.

The whole tawdry episode is still being investigated by Swiss prosecutors and if fraud has taken place then both Blatter and Platini should be sent to prison.

These two had fed from the trough for much too long and should never be allowed to return to football.

The game is facing huge challenges right now, not least because of the sex abuse scandal and the last thing it needs is these two returning to prominent roles. – The Daily Star.