Fifa rejects Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter appeal against 90-day suspension
Michel Platini's distant hopes of succeeding Sepp Blatter as Fifa president have been dealt another blow after the pair had appeals against their 90-day suspensions from football rejected.
The Uefa boss was suspended along with Blatter while Fifa's Ethics Committee investigates a suspicious £1.3m payment the current Fifa chief made to Platini in 2011.
Both men deny any wrongdoing and protested the suspensions that have at least temporarily limited their capabilities in football.
Platini has been unable to submit his bid for the Fifa presidency due to its Electoral Committee's refusal to process submissions from suspended or banned persons.
The former French international had hoped a successful appeal would allow him to enter the race yet his chances now look slimmer than ever before.
Both Platini and Blatter could now take their cases to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in order to fight the ruling.
Fifa suspended the pair last month after Swiss prosecutors uncovered a contentious £1.3m payment, described as "disloyal" by Fifa, that Blatter made to Platini in 2011 for work performed nine years earlier.
Fifa's verdict is still pending, but if found guilty, both Blatter and Platini could face lengthy bans from football.