UEFA chief Michel Platini was given powerful support from South America on Saturday as he fought back against a 90-day ban imposed on him by FIFA as part of its corruption investigation.

    The backing came from the South American confederation CONMEBOL, which said that the 60-year-old Frenchman was innocent until proven guilty of any wrongdoing and that the ban was “untimely and disproportionate.”

    Platini’s lawyers had earlier launched an official appeal against the suspension at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.

    The latest developments in the FIFA crisis came a day after FIFA president Sepp Blatter also appealed against a similar 90-day ban from all football-related activities over a Swiss criminal inquiry.

    The bans on Blatter and Platini were announced by FIFA on Thursday as its ethics watchdog geared up its investigation into fraud and corruption at the heart of the organization.

    Platini, a frontrunner to succeed Blatter as chief of soccer’s scandal-tainted world governing body, denies any wrongdoing in taking a US$2 million payment from FIFA in 2011.

    The former France skipper has slammed the ban as “farcical,” insisting the payment was legitimate.

    The statement of support from CONMEBOL said that the South Americans did not agree with the FIFA ethics commission decision and that “the presumption of innocence is a fundamental right that has to be considered.”

    CONMEBOL added that it fully believed in Platini’s capacity “to lead FIFA and the football world towards a brighter future.”

    Much now hangs on a crunch Oct. 20 meeting of FIFA’s ruling executive committee — announced late Friday following pressure from influential regional and national federations.

    The fate of the election to replace Blatter — slated for Feb. 26 — could depend on the summit, with some senior FIFA figures suggested the committee could debate postponing the vote.

    Interim FIFA president Issa Hayatou, who insisted ongoing health problems would not stop him doing the high-pressure job, is rushing from his native Cameroon to take the reins at FIFA HQ and is expected in Zurich tomorrow.

    Adding to the controversy, Thursday’s purge by the ethics committee also felled South Korean tycoon Chung Mong-joon — like Platini a candidate to replace Blatter — who was banned from soccer activities for six years.(SD-Agencies)