Zurich, October 9

FIFA president Sepp Blatter appealed against the 90-day ban that forced him out of office, his lawyers confirmed on Friday, as world football’s sleaze-tainted governing body headed into months of turmoil over how to find a new leader.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) became the latest regional body to demand an emergency meeting of the FIFA executive after the suspension of Blatter, UEFA president Michel Platini and FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke.

The row over Blatter’s suspension took a fresh twist on Friday as FIFA’s ethics watchdog rejected the 79-year-old’s claims he was not allowed to give evidence before he was banned, saying he was given “all his rights”. Blatter’s lawyers confirmed they had filed an official appeal and asked for further hearings with the ethics committee.

The New York Times earlier reported that Blatter had complained that he only found out about his suspension after it was made public. But ethics committee spokesman Andreas Bantel said Blatter had been given the chance to put his case on October 1.

Platini, hit with the same suspension on Thursday, also plans to appeal against his 90-day suspension. The Frenchman is a leading candidate in FIFA’s presidential election in February, alongside South Korean tycoon Chung Mong-Joon who was banned from football activities for six years. Blatter was provisionally banned by ethics watchdog as Swiss prosecutors investigate him for criminal mismanagement.