It adds: “Mr Platini failed to act with complete credibility and integrity, showing unawareness of the importance of his duties and concomitant obligations and responsibilities.

“His actions did not show commitment to an ethical attitude, failing to respect all applicable laws and regulations as well as FIFA’s regulatory framework to the extent applicable to him and demonstrating an abusive execution of his position as vice-president of FIFA and member of the FIFA executive committee.”

Outgoing FIFA president Blatter and UEFA president Platini claim the payment was made following a verbal agreement between the pair when the Frenchman worked for Blatter from 1998 to 2002.

The explanation was rejected as “not convincing” by the ethics committee, which added the evidence had not been sufficient to secure charges of corruption.

Blatter’s personal advisor Klaus Stoehlker confirmed that he will appeal against the ban and take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. Platini is likely to follow suit – he had aimed to succeed Blatter as FIFA president in February’s election but those hopes have been effectively ended, even if he manages to overturn the ban.

There is also the threat of action from the law authorities in the USA and Switzerland. The Swiss attorney general announced in October he had opened criminal proceedings against Blatter in connection to the 2million Swiss franc payment. The attorney general also stated he had interviewed Platini as someone “between a witness and an accused person”.

Blatter, 79, arrived at FIFA’s former headquarters in Zurich ahead of a news conference – he has hired it as a private citizen, but it still houses FIFA’s marketing department. Blatter has already claimed in media interviews that the ethics committee has no power to remove him as president.

Blatter said at the packed news conference: ``I will fight for me and I will fight for FIFA. Suspended for eight years for what? I spoke with my lawyer this morning, who was not surprised the notification of the decision was first made to the media and later to those who should receive it. Communication in this ethics committee is an example of how you shall not do it.

“I am really sorry. I am sorry that I am still somewhere a punching ball. I am sorry that as president of FIFA I am this punching ball. I am sorry for football. I am sorry for the 400 plus FIFA team members. I’m sorry about that. I am also sorry about me and about how I am treated in this world of humanitarian qualities.”

Blatter continued: ``You can identify me as an optimist. We thought we had convinced the panel with Mr Eckert in the chair about this situation which was created about the payment by FIFA and to Michel Platini for an on-going contract which was never terminated.

“We are in a so-called oral contract or gentleman’s agreement and this was made in 1998 just after the World Cup in France where Mr Platini approached me, and I approached him because we were together there, and said he would like to work for FIFA.

“I said it is wonderful if you come to FIFA but he said ’I am a very expensive man’ and I said that’s OK but we cannot pay you now. What astonishes me now, if I am going through the decision today, is they deny the existence of such an agreement.”