President of the Confederation of African Fotball (CAF) Issa Hayatou has taken over as Acting FIFA President, quickly outlining his agenda for the period he will be in office.

Hayatou mounted the saddle following the provisional ban clamped on FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, UEFA President and FIFA Vice-President Michel Platini, and FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke (who has already been put on leave by his employer FIFA) for a duration of 90 days. The duration of the bans may be extended for an additional period not exceeding 45 days. The former FIFA Vice-President Chung Mong-joon was banned for six years and fined CHF 100,000. During this time, the above individuals are banned from all football activities on a national and international level. The bans come into force immediately.

The grounds for these decisions by the adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee chaired by Hans Joachim Eckert are the investigations that are being carried out by the investigatory chamber of the committee. The chairman of the chamber is Dr Cornel Borbély. The investigation into Joseph S. Blatter is being carried out by Robert Torres, the investigation into Michel Platini by Vanessa Allard.

The proceedings against the South Korean football official Chung Mong-joon were opened in January 2015 based on findings in the report on the investigation into the bidding process for the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cups. He has been found guilty of infringing article 13 (General rules of conduct), article 16 (Confidentiality), article 18 (Duty of disclosure, cooperation and reporting), article 41 (Obligation of the parties to collaborate) and article 42 (General obligation to collaborate) of the FIFA Code of Ethics.

Shortly after assuming his new duties, Mr. Hayatou issued the following statement: “Today, amid extraordinary circumstances, I have assumed the office of FIFA President pursuant to Article 32 (6) of the FIFA Statutes. I will serve only on an interim basis. A new President will be chosen by the Extraordinary Congress on 26 February 2016. I myself will not be a candidate for that position.

“Until the Extraordinary Congress, I pledge that I will dedicate my best efforts to the organisation, the member associations, our employees, our valued partners, and football fans everywhere. FIFA remains committed to the reform process, which is critical to reclaiming public trust. We will also continue to cooperate fully with authorities and follow the internal investigation wherever it leads.

“Football has never enjoyed greater support throughout the world, and that is something everyone associated with FIFA should be proud of.”

•Photo shows Acting FIFA President Issa Hayatou.

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