Sports

AMMAN — The Jordan Cup quarters resume on Sunday with the competing teams aiming to secure one of the season’s titles.

After the elimination of contenders Wihdat, Ramtha, Baqa’a in the Round of 16, now it’s Hussein vs Shabab Urdun, Jazira taking on That Ras, Faisali against Kufrsoum and Turra going up against Ahli.

In Leg 1 of the Jordan Cup quarters, Hussein tied Shabab Urdun 1-1, Jazira beat That Ras 3-0, Faisali beat Kufrsoum 1-0 and Ahli defeated Turra 3-0. 

Ahli, who are now third in the league, are on a high note and are poised to reach the semis, while Faisali, who now lead the league, are the top team vying for the title, which could be there second of the season.

Four Division 1 teams — Turra, Balaama, Arabi and Sheikh Hussein — had qualified to join the Jordan Professional League teams in the second event of the season. In the preliminary knockout round, reigning Jordan Cup champs Faisali ousted Sarih 2-1, Ahli upstaged Wihdat 1-0, Turra upset Ramtha 5-3 on penalties, Jazira beat Asala 2-1, Hussein eliminated Baqa’a 3-2 on penalties, That Ras ousted Arabi 1-0, Kufrsoum beat Sheikh Hussein 2-0 and Shabab Urdun defeated Balaama 5-0.

So far this season, Jordan Cup titleholders Faisali beat league titleholders Wihdat 1-0 to win the 33rd Super Cup. Wihdat have been league champions for the past two consecutive years and only have the league title in contention after conceding the Super Cup.

AMMAN — Faisali ended Week 11 of the 64th Jordan Professional Football League atop the standings while titleholders Wihdat dropped to fourth as Leg 1 concluded this week.

Although there is a postponed week with teams readying to play the Jordan Cup quarters, the conclusion of Leg 1 matches saw former champs Faisali ,who beat Baqa’a 3-1 last week, holding Sarih 1-1 but managing to keep their lead as Wihdat lost 1-0 to Jazira last week and 3-0 to Baqa’a this week and dropped to fourth.

Wihdat goalkeeper Amer Shafie was quoted in Al Rai as saying he would retire from local and international football as Wihdat’s line-up was blamed for the team’s weak performances in the last two weeks.

Shabab Urdun are second after a 3-2 win over That Ras while Ahli jumped to third after impressive performances including a 2-1 win over Hussein Irbid and a 2-1 win over Shabab Urdun last week.

Ramtha are sixth after they were held 1-1 with Kufrsoum while Jazira, who beat Asala 1-0, are seventh and Hussein eighth. Baqa’a moved from last to 11th. 

So far this season, Jordan Cup titleholders Faisali beat Wihdat 1-0 to win the 33rd Super Cup. Apart from losing the Super Cup, Wihdat were also knockout out of the Jordan Cup this season.

Wihdat have been league champions for the past two consecutive years. Faisali finished at a disappointing 7th place in the league last season as runner-up and third places went to Jazira and Ramtha. 

League action returns in 2016 with Week 12 matches kicking off on February 2.

League Standings
(Last week’s position in parenthesis)

Forward Kobe Bryant scored 22 points in three quarters, allowing the Los Angeles Lakers to snap a six-game losing streak by defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 113-95 at Staples Centre on Tuesday.

Rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell came off the bench to score 19 points and record seven assists as seven Lakers reached double figures in scoring.

Guard Lou Williams scored 16 points, forward Julius Randle finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds and centre Roy Hibbert added 12 points and a season-high 11 rebounds for Los Angeles (4-21), which won for only the second time at home this season.

Reserve guard Michael Carter-Williams had 19 points and guard Khris Middleton chipped in 16 to lead Milwaukee (10-16), which has dropped three of its last four games.

Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo contributed 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.

The Bucks did not play anything close to their performance in Saturday’s 108-95 win over Golden State that ended the Warriors’ perfect 24-0 start to the season. Against the Lakers, the Bucks fell into an early hole and never recovered.

Milwaukee also was hurt playing without centre Greg Monroe, who was a late scratch with a sore left knee. Monroe apparently bumped knees with a teammate during the team’s shoot-around on Tuesday morning. He will be re-evaluated on Wednesday.

The Lakers dictated the first half en route to a 55-46 lead at the break and continued their dominance in the second half.

Los Angeles opened the third quarter with a 10-2 surge, including a crowd-pleasing dunk by forward Larry Nance Jr over Bucks centre John Henson, for a 17-point advantage after a Bryant fadeaway at 8:47.

Another Lakers run that featured a four-point play by Bryant pushed the lead to 75-53 after a reverse layup by Russell on an assist from Bryant. Los Angeles led 86-66 heading into the final quarter.

With the victory, the Lakers also ended a run of 14 straight opponents scoring at least 100 points.

The Bucks outshot the Lakers 47.1 per cent to 46.1 per cent but Los Angeles had an edge in three-pointers, making 10-of-27 (37 per cent) to only 4-of-13 (30.8 per cent) for Milwaukee.

James scores 24

The Cleveland Cavaliers, closing in on the return of point guard Kyrie Irving, won their third consecutive game when they beat the Celtics 89-77 in Boston on Tuesday.

Forward LeBron James capped a 12-0 third-quarter run with a reverse slam dunk as the Cavs took control.

James, who finished with 24 points, had six during that run and also capped a 10-3 fourth-quarter spurt that made things comfortable for Cleveland (16-7).

He shot 10-for-20 from the floor (0-for-3 from 3-point range) and committed five turnovers, also grabbing seven rebounds.

The Celtics (14-11) closed a 13-point deficit to seven, but Cleveland forward Kevin Love hit six points and James two in an 8-0 run that sent fans heading for the exits.

Love, whose 2015 postseason ended on the TD Garden floor when he was injured by Boston forward Kelly Olynyk, scored 20 points and added 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

It was a different Cav who got injured this time, as guard Iman Shumpert, who missed the first 21 games while recovering from wrist surgery, left the game with a groin complaint.

“Honestly, [I am] a little bit concerned,” Cavaliers coach David Blatt said of Shumpert, who missed the first 21 games of the season.

“I have no idea what the extent is but given what our recent history is, I’m concerned.”

On a brighter note, the Cavs are close to getting Irving back for his season debut after his recovery from a knee injury.

Blatt went out of his way to credit James’ oft-overlooked defence as a key to the victory.

“It seems like there’s nothing we don’t ask of him that he doesn’t answer for us,” said Blatt. “That’s why he’s the greatest player in the game.”

Talking about the team defence, James said: “That’s one of our staples we stress every single day — defending at a high level and trying to move the ball offensively. In the first half, we allowed them to get to some of their spots. Wasn’t as aggressive, but we still played very well.

“They had 46 points at halftime. But in the second half, we just locked down and then we started moving the ball. We just kind of kept them off base.”

Guard Avery Bradley led the Celtics with 17 points, while forward Jae Crowder, who played strong defence on James much of the night, added 14. Guard Isaiah Thomas shot 3-for-15 from the floor en route to 12 points.

SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio built a giant 46-point lead thanks to its smothering defence before easing up to beat Utah 118-81 on Monday and extend their stellar start to the NBA season.

The Spurs improved to 21-5 — the second-best start in franchise history — and retained their 6-1/2 game lead in the Southwest Division.

In other key games, Atlantic Division leader Toronto had their four-game winning streak ended by Indiana, the Los Angeles Clippers defeated Detroit with a 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining in overtime, and Miami took a share of the Southeast Division lead with a win over slumping Atlanta.

San Antion has held 13 of their past 14 opponents under 100 points and the Spurs defence was again well on top of Utah, establishing a 20-point-plus lead at halftime for the third game in five.

Kawhi Leonard had 22 points while LaMarcus Aldridge and Tony Parker added 18 points each for the Spurs, who are 13-0 at home.

Derrick Favours led the Jazz with 16 points.

Indiana’s Jordan Hill had season highs with 20 points and 13 rebounds as the Pacers beat Toronto 106-90.

Monta Ellis had 18 points for Indiana, which went on a 39-4 run in the first half to overturn a 21-point deficit.

Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan each scored 20 points for the Raptors, who had beaten the Pacers in their past five matches.

The Clippers edged Detroit 105-103 when Jamal Crawford hit a 3-pointer with 12.4 seconds left in overtime.

Blake Griffin made a pair of free throws with 38.8 seconds remaining to put the Clippers ahead 102-101, but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope tied it for the Pistons by going 1 of 2 from the foul line with 30.5 seconds left.

After Crawford’s basket, the Clippers fouled Reggie Jackson with 9.3 seconds left. He made the first shot, missed the second, and teammate Andre Drummond got two chances for a tying tip-in, but missed both. Jackson missed a desperation shot at the buzzer.

Griffin finished with 34 points for the Clippers, and J.J. Redick had 24.

Jackson finished with 34 points and 11 rebounds for Detroit.

Miami led comfortably throughout in winning 100-88 at Atlanta.

Chris Bosh scored 24 points and Gerald Green had 20 for the Heat, who moved one-and-a-half games above their Southeast rival.

Dallas’ Chandler Parsons scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half to guide the Mavericks to a 104-94 win against Phoenix.

Parsons has been on restricted duty, coming off the bench lately, following offseason knee surgery. He had eight points during a 20-4 run to finish the third quarter, when Dallas made 13 of its last 14 shots to take a 77-58 lead.

Deron Williams led Dallas with 18 points, including a 3-pointer to help hold off another Phoenix push.

Eric Bledsoe led the Suns with 23 points.

Memphis shot 56 per cent and sank 10 of 15 3-point attempts in beating Washington 112-95.

Denver’s Will Barton scored 23 points, including two game-sealing free throws with 13.5 seconds remaining, to give the Nuggets a 114-108 win against Houston.

Orlando claimed their first win in Brooklyn, cruising past the Nets 105-82 behind 54 per cent shooting from the field.

Portland extended their run of wins against New Orleans to seven by defeating the Pelicans 105-101, led by 30 points from Damian Lillard.

Chicago rallied from a five-point halftime deficit to beat hapless Philadelphia 115-96 and keep the 76ers winless in 15 road games.

YOKOHAMA, Japan — Injured striker Neymar sat out training for a second straight day Tuesday as Barcelona prepared for their Club World Cup semifinal.

Neymar now looks unlikely to play for the European champions, who are seeking a third Club World Cup crown, against Asian champion Guangzhou Evergrande of China.

He sustained a groin injury in training last week ahead of the Champions League match with Bayer Leverkusen.

Neymar also skipped Monday’s practice, which took place only hours after the team arrived in Yokohama following an overnight flight.

Guangzhou Evergrande, coached by Neymar’s Brazilian compatriot Luiz Felipe Scolari, is on a 28-match unbeaten run and beat Club America of Mexico in the previous round.

But European champions Barcelona are only just getting to know about their Chinese rival.

“Between today and tomorrow, we will know more about the team — our manager, Luis Enrique, will inform us about their team, and our tactics,” said Barcelona’s left-sided player Jordi Alba said.

“But it will be a very difficult and complicated game, and difficult to reach the final. We will have to play very well.”

Guangzhou Evergrande last lost in May, just before Scolari, who led Brazil to World Cup glory in 2002, became coach.

The Barcelona squad watched from Japan when the draw was made for the Champions League last 16 on Monday night European time.

Barcelona drew Arsenal in the first knockout stage, to be played in February. It was the third time in seven seasons the two clubs had been drawn to face each other.

Barcelona knocked out Arsenal in 2009-10 and 2010-11. But the London-based club looks to be mounting a serious Premier League title challenge for the first time in almost a decade.

“It will be more difficult than in other years,” said Alba. “Arsenal seems to have improved, especially from midfield and from the attacking side.

“What we have done in the past doesn’t help so much. It is a difficult draw and we will have to do our best to try to reach the next round, for Arsenal also has a good defence. But what has especially improved is the midfield and the forward line.”

Barcelona won the Club World Cup — which has returned to Japan after a two-year stint in Morocco — in 2009 and 2011.

The tournament features the top clubs from FIFA’s six continental confederations and the champion of the host country.

Wednesday’s first semifinal sees River Plate, of Argentina, face Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima, in Osaka.

NYON, Switzerland — Holders and Spanish league leaders Barcelona will play Premier League leaders Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions League, 10 years after the sides faced each other in the final, following Monday’s draw for the first knockout stage.

Spanish league leaders Barcelona, chasing a sixth title, prevailed 2-1 in the 2006 final at the Stade de France in Paris and also triumphed in the knockout phase in 2010 and 2011.

Chelsea, who are enduring a torrid time in the Premier League, will face French league leaders Paris St Germain in the knockout stages for the third year in succession after the French champions triumphed at the same stage last season and the London club had the upper hand in the quarter-finals the previous year.

Another clash between big guns will feature former winners Juventus and Bayern Munich, while 10-times champions Real Madrid were drawn against AS Roma.

It is the game between the pacesetters in Spain and Arsenal which most catches the eye, however.

“We are certain to see a sporting spectacular,” said Barca Director Albert Soler.

“Arsenal and Barcelona have a similar style of play. The fans will enjoy themselves, we’re two sides with a similar understanding of the game. They will be two great matches. We must have maximum respect for Arsenal.”

“Barca are used to playing under pressure in every sense. But we are the reigning champions and that gives you an edge.”

Arsenal club secretary David Miles said: “It is not easy and the one to avoid at this stage, but it is up to us and we will give them a game.

“Messi, Neymar, Suarez you could go on, but we have our own world class players and I am sure they will be fantastic games in London and in Barcelona.”

There is also a familiar feel about the Chelsea vs PSG tie.

“There is not much we don’t know about Paris,” said Chelsea General Secretary David Barnard.

“You only know if it’s a good draw after the tie. We are ambitious, we have two-and-a-half months to prepare,” PSG Sports Director Olivier Letang said.

Real Madrid and Roma have also seen a lot of each other in the competition, though not since 2008 when the Italians won home and away in the last 16.

“You have to be very much on your guard. If we see ourselves as favourites things won’t go well for us,” said Real Director Emilio Butragueno.

“We know what can happen if you have 10 poor minutes on a European night.”

Juventus could come to regret having blown their finale in the group stage, leaving Manchester City, who will take on Dynamo Kiev, with the better draw on paper.

“Everybody wanted to avoid Barca and Bayern so we are not so lucky but Bayern will not be glad they drew Juve,” said Juventus ambassador Pavel Nedved.

Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “They have a good side [Kiev] and it will be difficult for us. They are growing in the competition and it will be a big challenge but we hope to be ready.

“They are a strong side, but they like to play football and it is just 11 vs 11. We are improving and gaining experience in the competition so we hope to do well.”

PSV Eindhoven will take on Atletico Madrid and Benfica will be against Zenit St Petersburg.

Gent, in their first participation in the competition, will take on Germany’s VfL Wolfsburg.

The first legs of the ties are spread over four days in February, with the returns on March 8, 9 and 15, when there are two matches.

AMMAN — Faisali will be aiming to extend their lead atop the 64th Jordan Professional Football League standings when Week 11 kicks off on Tuesday.

The former champs, who beat Baqa’a 3-1 to overtake Wihdat in top spot, next play Sarih, who beat Hussein Irbid 2-1 to jump to sixth. Wihdat went down 1-0 to Jazira and conceded the top spot ahead of their match against Baqa’a.

Ahli beat Shabab Urdun 2-1 to jump to fourth ahead of their match against Hussein Irbid. Shabab Urdun will next play That Ras, who are down to 10th after losing to Kufrsoum 1-0.

Ramtha were held 1-1 with Asala and will next play Kufrsoum. Last year’s runner-up Jazira will play Asala, who moved to 11th.

So far this season, Jordan Cup titleholders Faisali beat league titleholders Wihdat 1-0 to win the 33rd Super Cup. Apart from conceding the Super Cup, Wihdat were also knockout out of the Jordan Cup this season.

Wihdat have been league champions for the past two consecutive years. Faisali finished at a disappointing 7th place in the League last season, as runner-up and third places went to Jazira and Ramtha. 

League Standings
(Last week’s position in parenthesis) 

MILWAUKEE — Golden State’s record winning streak to start the season ended at 24 games when the Warriors were beaten 108-95 at Milwaukee on Saturday.

Their 28-game streak, counting the final four games of last season, also came to a halt, ending the Warriors’ quest to reach the longest winning sequence in NBA history, which remains 33 by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1971-72.

Elsewhere, San Antonio put in a superb defensive performance in the first half to set up a big win at Atlanta, Boston ended Charlotte’s winning streak in a result that tightened the fight at the top of the Atlantic and Southeast divisions, while Detroit extended their home winning streak to five by defeating Indiana.

Milwaukee, bottom of the Central Division, was an unlikely candidate to end Golden State’s winning run, but got an all-round effort from the team, led by 28 points from Greg Monroe.

It also helped that the Warriors, perhaps fighting fatigue after needing two overtimes to win at Boston on Friday, were cold from 3-point range. They usually make 13 a night, but were just 6 of 26 from behind the arc in the final game of a seven-game road trip.

A miserly San Antonio gave up only 25 Atlanta points in the first half to lay the foundation for a 103-78 win at the Hawks.

Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points for the Spurs, who led 47-25 at halftime. The Hawks’ total was the lowest for any team in any half this season. The previous low was Houston’s 26 second-half points on November 1 at Miami.

Manu Ginobili had 17 points for San Antonio, who have won six of seven.

Paul Millsap led Atlanta with 22 points, including 17 in the third quarter. No other Hawks player scored in double figures.

Boston snapped Charlotte’s four-game winning streak with a 98-93 road win, moving within one game of Atlantic leader Toronto.

Avery Bradley scored 23 points and Isaiah Thomas added 21 points and 13 assists for the Celtics, who responded well after the double-overtime loss to Golden State on Friday.

The Hornets had a chance to tie the game late but Nicolas Batum’s 9.1m jumper off a side inbounds play with 6.6 seconds remaining missed everything, and Evan Turner put away the game with a layup.

Batum’s 21 points led the Hornets, whose lead in the Central was trimmed to one game ahead of Miami and Atlanta.

Detroit’s Reggie Jackson had 21 points as the Pistons beat Indiana 118-96.

Ersan Ilyasova added 20 points for the Pistons, who had six players score in double figures.

George Hill led the Pacers with 14 points. Paul George finished with 13 on 4-of-16 shooting, missing all four of his 3-point attempts.

Washington ended a run of 11 straight losses to Dallas by winning 114-111 at the Mavericks.

Otto Porter scored a career-high 28 points and John Wall had 26 points and 16 assists for the Wizards, who beat the Mavericks for the first time since 2009.

Porter more than picked up the slack for the injured Bradley Beal, scoring 17 points during Washington’s 39-point third quarter as the Wizards built a 21-point lead.

Wesley Matthews led the Mavericks with 28 points, including six 3-pointers.

The Los Angeles Clippers also ended a head-to-head hoodoo by defeating Brooklyn for the first time in eight attempts, winning 105-100.

New York’s Carmelo Anthony tied a season high with 37 points, helping the Knicks rally for a 112-110 win at Portland.

Chicago’s Aaron Brooks scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to rally the Bulls to a 98-94 victory over New Orleans.

Houston’s James Harden scored 30 points, leading the Rockets to a runaway 126-97 win that condemned the Los Angeles Lakers to a 13th loss in 14 games.

PARIS — Defending champion Spain begins its quest for a third straight European Championship title against the Czech Republic, while host France also escaped with a relatively unthreatening group in Saturday's draw and opens Euro 2016 against Romania on June 10.

World Cup winner Germany will also be content with the draw, although Italy wasn't so lucky and neither was England.

Spain's other opponents in Group D are Turkey and Croatia, while coach Didier Deschamps' France also takes on newcomer Albania and Switzerland in Group A.

Although Spain is the only team to have won the competition consecutively, and won nine out of 10 games in qualifying, coach Vicente del Bosque remains cautious.

"It's going to be very difficult for us," he said.

Germany faces Robert Lewandowski's Poland, Ukraine and Northern Ireland in Group C, while England has its work cut out against local rival Wales and Russia in Group B, which also contains Slovakia.

"We have a rather balanced group ... which we have to win," Germany coach Joachim Loew said. "We're favourites in the group and we want to win it."

Loew's confidence was echoed by former midfielder Lothar Matthaeus, who captained West Germany to the World Cup title in 1990.

"There are trickier groups," he said. "German football fans can look forward to the second round."

But Germany's defence will need to be wary of Poland's prolific striker Robert Lewandowski, the top scorer in qualifying with 13 goals, who has been in rampant form for Bayern Munich.

Italy will not be relishing Group E much, which contains a top-ranked Belgian side — featuring Chelsea's Eden Hazard and Manchester City's Vincent Kompany — Sweden, led by Paris Saint-Germain star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and a rejuvenated Ireland.

"Belgium is a great team with outstanding players," Italy coach Antonio Conte said, while Belgium coach Marc Wilmots was equally wary, saying "it's the most difficult opponents we could have."

Sweden vs Belgium looks like a mouth-watering final match in that group.

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo will be confident of adding to his record 26 goals in Euros, including qualifiers, in a Group F featuring Iceland and Hungary, but Austria was unbeaten in qualifying and poses a strong threat.

In September, with Bayern Munich's David Alaba playing in a more attacking midfield role, Austria won 4-1 away to Sweden in a performance full of speed and menace.

"[Austria] qualified directly from their group, eliminating the Netherlands in the process, which says a lot about their potential," Portugal coach Fernando Santos said. "Austria is also a team that has been improving lately and has great players, like David Alaba, Christian Fuchs and Marko Arnautovic. They finished their group on a high and we will have to be careful with them."

England will first play Russia in Marseille on June 11 and there is likely to be a heavy security presence after serious outbreaks of fan violence there when England played Tunisia during the 1998 World Cup.

"Russia and Slovakia will be interesting. I have not come across either of those two teams in my international management before," England coach Roy Hodgson said. "There will be plenty of research between now and June and we can find out as much as we can before the campaign. Wales are very well organised, have a team spirit and very strong spine."

Wales' hopes of progressing rest largely with Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale, who scored seven goals in qualifying.

The European Championship has 24 teams for the first time, and will feature a new second round that includes the best four third-place finishers.

France will be confident of winning its group, having beating Switzerland 5-2 in the group stages at last year's World Cup in Brazil.

Karim Benzema starred in that match, but could well miss the tournament after being indefinitely suspended from the national team. He has been charged with conspiracy to blackmail in a case involving France teammate Mathieu Valbuena — who also scored against the Swiss — and Benzema is suspended pending the outcome of his case.

Benzema and Valbuena tore the Swiss apart that day, but the case is now threatening to tear the national team apart.

"A lot of things can happen one way or another," said Deschamps, leaving the door open for a return. "For now he's not available for selection, [but] I don't know what will happen in six months' time."

France last hosted the Euro in 1984 and won it thanks to the brilliance of Michel Platini's nine goals from midfield.

Saturday's draw took place at the Palais des Congres in Paris without Platini, who is the current — though suspended — president of UEFA.

PARIS — FIFA’s Ethics Committee have subjected European football chief Michel Platini to a “sham procedure”, the Frenchman’s legal team said on Friday after he lost an appeal to have a provisional 90-day ban overturned.

Reacting to comments in French newspaper L’Equipe by ethics committee spokesman Andreas Bantel, a statement from Platini’s representatives said the remarks “constituted a patent violation of the presumption of innocence”.

“They demonstrate also that the ethics committee is pursuing a political objective for whom contradictory arguments and the hearing that it fixed itself for December 18 will manifestly serve no purpose,” added the statement.

“Mr Platini, for whom the sanction already seems to have been fixed [decided] by the FIFA Ethics Committee before his explanations have been heard, strongly denounces these practices which showcase the sham procedure of which he has been the object for weeks.”

The committee provisionally suspended Platini and outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter from the sport on October 8, pending a full investigation into their conduct.

However, Bantel’s comments suggest the UEFA president’s hopes of being exonerated and therefore still being able to run for the top FIFA job in the February 26 election are non-existent.

“In this case the question of corruption is well founded,” said Bantel.

“And in supposing the corruption argument is not accepted by [the] judicial chamber, many other questions have been raised about possible violations of the criminal code, such as conflict of interest, disloyal management and falsification of accounts.

FIFA payment

“All this naturally suffices for the suspension of Blatter and Platini for several years. Platini certainly will be suspended for several years,” added Bantel.

“As for Blatter, now aged 79, there’s no difference for him between several years [suspension] and banishment for life.”

Platini, head of UEFA since 2002, was the favourite to replace Blatter but has become mired in the biggest scandal to hit FIFA.

The former France midfielder was barred for 90 days during an investigation centred on a 2 million Swiss francs ($1.97 million) payment from FIFA to Platini.

He suffered another blow on Friday when the Court of Arbitration for Sport turned down his appeal against the provisional ban, although the organisation ordered FIFA not to extend it.

Even a temporary lifting of the ban, that ends 52 days before the FIFA election, would have allowed Platini to attend Saturday’s draw in Paris for the 2016 European Championship.

That showpiece occasion would have given him the opportunity to promote his ambitions.

A final decision by the ethics committee is expected by the end of this month.