The world football governing body, FIFA's ethics committee, has recommended a 90-day provisional suspension for FIFA president Joseph "Sepp" Blatter, a former advisor to Blatter revealed Wednesday.
Klauss Stohlker, a close friend and former advisor to Blatter, said the ethics committee's adjudicatory chamber recommended a 90-day suspension for the embattled FIFA chief, reported BBC Sports. Judge Hans Joachim Eckhert, who heads the adjudicatory chamber, is likely to make a final decision on Friday.
"Blatter has heard that from several sources. He has not got any message from the committee ... and he is perfectly under control. He is going to the office tomorrow," said Stohlker, according to Associated Press.
UEFA President Michel Platini also faces imminent 90-day suspension if the committee's recommendations are accepted.
Blatter's lawyers, however, refuted the provisional suspension claims saying that he has not received any information of suspension.
"We issue this statement in response to press reports about the Fifa Ethics Committee. President Blatter has not been notified of any action taken by the Fifa Ethics Committee," his lawyers Lorenz Erni and Richard Cullen said in a statement, according to Independent.
"We would expect that the Ethics Committee would want to hear from the President and his counsel, and conduct a thorough review of the evidence, before making any recommendation to take disciplinary action," the statement read.
The suspension recommendation came days after Swiss prosecutors said that they began criminal proceedings against Blatter, as HNGN reported previously. He is accused of criminal mismanagement and misappropriation of FIFA's funds.
The 79-year-old rejected the call for his resignation and vowed to continue as FIFA chief until the election, scheduled in February 2016.
"It is outrageous. I am being condemned without there being any evidence for wrongdoing," Blatter said in an interview with a German magazine on Wednesday, according to Latin American Herald Tribune.
