Tuesday 22 December 2015 06:33, UK
Disgraced FIFA president Sepp Blatter and his UEFA counterpart Michel Platini have vowed to fight their respective eight-year bans from football.
Blatter held a news conference in Zurich on Monday shortly after FIFA's ethics committee announced the verdicts on the pair.
The 79-year-old Blatter said the word "sorry" 11 times in one minute - but did not admit any guilt and insisted he remains the president of the sport's international governing body.
"I will fight. I will fight for me and I will fight for FIFA. I am suspended eight years - for what?"
Frenchman Platini, so long the favourite to replace Blatter in February's presidential elections, released his response through a statement, describing the committee's findings a "masquerade", "orchestrated to tarnish my reputation".
Blatter was punished for giving Platini £1.35m in February 2011 for work Platini had undertaken between 1998-2002 as a presidential adviser.
He said he had a "gentleman's agreement" with Platini and continued to insist he has done nothing wrong. He and Platini will appeal against the sanction, with their next step set to be the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
"To say that it's a good day for me or for FIFA would be totally wrong," Blatter said.
"Let us say that I'm really sorry. I am sorry. I'm sorry that I am still somewhere a punching ball, I'm sorry that I am as president of FIFA this punching ball.
"And I'm sorry for football, I'm sorry for FIFA that I'm serving for 40 years - I'm sorry for that. Sorry for the 400 plus FIFA team members. I'm sorry for that, I'm sorry. But I'm also sorry for me, how I am treated in this world of humanity and humanitarian qualities"
Blatter, who revealed that he found out about his ban only after the news was broken by the media, added: "I repeat, I regret that I am this punching ball. This organisation that I have served with heart and conscience. The organisation is still working well."
On the hearing from last week, Blatter added: "Together with (my) Swiss lawyer, we thought that we had convinced the panel of the tribunal... about this situation…
"We are in a so-called oral contract or gentleman's agreement. This agreement was made in 1998, in France, just after the World Cup. Where Mr Platini said he would like to work for FIFA, I said it was wonderful. He said he wanted one million Swiss francs. I said OK, we can pay you part now, part later.
"What astonishes me now about the decision of the FIFA ethics committee is that they deny, they deny the existence of such an agreement."
Blatter defiantly added: "I am still the president. I am not ashamed. I regret, but I am not ashamed. I am ashamed about the committee's decision - and that they don't go to the evidence. I tell you they have no right to go against the president. The president of FIFA can only be relieved of his activities by the FIFA congress.
"At the next congress, the 27 February, before the election of the new president, even suspended I am president and the president must be first relieved of his duties."
And Blatter insisted that he would continue to watch matches, regardless of the ban.
"To suspend the president of FIFA, or high-level functionaries, and to not let them go to the football match - it is not applied to this person," he said.
He final words to the news conference were: "I'll be back."
Platini was in equally combative mood and said: "This decision does not surprise me. The FIFA ethics commission's procedure against me is a pure masquerade. It was orchestrated to tarnish my reputation.
"I'm convinced that my fate was decided before the December 18 hearing and that this decision is just a pathetic manoeuvre to hide a true will of taking me out of the football world.
"It has been rigged to tarnish my name by bodies I know well and who for me are bereft of all credibility or legitimacy. I will fight this to the end."
