Platini gets South American support

ZURICH — UEFA chief Michel Platini was given powerful support from South America Saturday as he fought back against a 90-day ban imposed on him by FIFA as part of its corruption investigation. The backing came from the South Amerian confederation CONMEBOL which said that the 60-year-old Frenchman was innocent until proven guilty of any wrongdoing and that the ban was "untimely and disproportionate". Platini's lawyers had earlier launched an official appeal against the suspension at FIFA headquarters in Zurich. The 60-year-old Platini, a frontrunner to succeed Blatter as chief of football's scandal-tainted world governing body, denies any wrongdoing in taking a $2 million (1.8 million euros) payment from FIFA in 2011. The statement of support from CONMEBOL said that the South Americans did not agree with the FIFA ethics commission decision and that "the presumption of innocence is a fundamental right that has to be considered." CONMEBOL added that it fully believed in Platini's capacity "to lead FIFA and the football world towards a brighter future". Much now hangs on a crunch Oct. 20 meeting of FIFA's ruling executive committee — announced late Friday following pressure from influential regional and national federations. The fate of the election to replace Blatter — slated for Feb. 26 — could depend on the summit, with some senior FIFA figures suggested the committee could debate postponing the vote. Interim FIFA president Issa Hayatou, who Friday insisted ongoing health problems would not stop him doing the high-pressure job, is rushing from his native Cameroon to take the reins at FIFA HQ and is expected in Zurich Tuesday. The dramatic suspension of Blatter and Platini along with FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke was the latest blow to an organization reeling from months of scandal. The crisis has been building since May, when US authorities announced charges against 14 officials and sports marketing executives over bribery allegations amounting to more than $150 million. The suspensions handed out Thursday can be renewed for another 45 days when they run out in January, which would take the exclusion until just before the FIFA election.