Fifa committee formally charges Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini

Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini will have formal hearings later this month into allegations that they breached Fifa’s ethics code, it has been announced.

Hans-Joachim Eckert, the German judge who heads the adjudicatory chamber of Fifa’s ethics committee, has opened proceedings against the pair, after studying reports from investigators.

Outgoing Fifa president Blatter and Uefa president Platini are facing lengthy bans if found guilty of several breaches of Fifa’s ethics code over a £1.3m (€2m) payment made by Fifa to Platini in 2011. A decision is expected before Christmas.