Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline Decmber 21, 2015 – FIFA president Joseph S. Blatter during a press conference he convened in response to the ban imposed by FIFA's Ethics Committee. The Swiss was sporting a band aid under his right eye -- thought to be because of a recent mole removal. Hide Caption 1 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline December 21, 2015 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini are banned by FIFA's Ethics Committee for eight years. The ban relates to all football-related activity and is effective immediately. Hide Caption 2 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline November 11, 2015 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter had been in hospital in November, recovering from "a body breakdown." Hide Caption 3 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline November 9, 2015 – Wolfgang Niersbach announces his resignation as German Football Federation president, taking "political responsibility" for accusations of bribery involving the country's bid to stage the 2006 World Cup. Hide Caption 4 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline October 26, 2015 – FIFA's deadline for submitting candidacies for its presidential election was October 26, with eight putting themselves forward for the February 26, 2015 vote to succeed Sepp Blatter. However, on October 28 David Nakhid was omitted from FIFA's final list as one of the five football associations that had declared its support for him had already done so for another candidate. Hide Caption 5 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline October 26, 2015 – UEFA president Michel Platini was the first to enter the FIFA presidential race back in July, but questions remain over whether he is even still eligible to stand in the election after he was provisionally banned from football for 90 days. Hide Caption 6 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline October 26, 2015 – Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein of Jordan announced his presidency bid in September. He was the sole challenger to Sepp Blatter in the May 29 election but conceded defeat after receiving 73 votes to the Swiss' 133 in the first round of voting. Hide Caption 7 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline October 26, 2015 – Ex-Trinidad and Tobago captain David Nakhid submitted his candidacy earlier this month. Nakhid also played for the likes of PAOK of Greece and Malmo of Sweden. However, on October 28, Nakhid was omitted from FIFA's final list. "One of the five declarations of support for Mr Nakhid was declared invalid as the same member association had previously issued a declaration of support for another candidate," said a FIFA statement. "In view of this, the Ad-hoc Electoral Committee decided not to consider Mr Nakhid's application as it did not fulfil the required five declarations of support." Hide Caption 8 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline October 26, 2015 – South African businessman Tokyo Sexwale, who has been part of FIFA's anti-discrimination taskforce, announced his intention to run for presidency after the South African Football Association's National Executive Committee unanimously endorsed his candidacy last week. Hide Caption 9 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline October 26, 2015 – Former FIFA international relations director Jerome Champagne, who had hoped to challenge Blatter in May's election but was forced to withdraw, confirmed last week that he will be standing. Hide Caption 10 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline October 26, 2015 – Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa launched his bid to become the next FIFA president 24 hours before the deadline. Sheikh Salman has been criticized by human rights organizations after being accused of complicity in crimes against humanity. Sheikh Salman's representatives were not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNN. Hide Caption 11 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline October 26, 2015 – UEFA announced on the day of the deadline that its general secretary Gianni Infantino -- Platini's right-hand man -- will run for the FIFA presidency. Hide Caption 12 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline October 26, 2015 – Liberian Football Association president Musa Bility also confirmed on the day of the deadline that he is to run for the FIFA presidency. Hide Caption 13 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline October 8, 2015 – Has FIFA president Blatter spent his last day as head of football's world governing body? The 79-year-old Swiss was provisionally banned for 90 days Thursday by the adjudicatory chamber of FIFA's Ethics Committee, though the duration of the ban could be extended by 45 days. Hide Caption 14 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline October 8, 2015 – UEFA president and FIFA vice-president Platini was also provisionally banned for 90 days. Platini is one of the FIFA presidential candidates hoping to succeed Blatter. Hide Caption 15 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline October 8, 2015 – South Korean billionaire and FIFA presidential candidate Chung Mong-joon was banned for six years and fined $103,000 based on findings relating to the bidding process for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2022 tournament in Qatar.



Chung, a former FIFA vice president, vociferously denies any wrongdoing and attacked his colleagues for leaks that he says are designed to hurt his candidacy. Hide Caption 16 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline October 8, 2015 – FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke was suspended for 90 days. Hide Caption 17 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline September 14, 2015 – U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announces that 'additional charges against individuals and entities' are likely following the assessment of new evidence. Hide Caption 18 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline September 9, 2015 – Prince Ali adds his name to the list of candidates seeking to replace Sepp Blatter. The election at scandal-hit FIFA is on February 26, 2016. Hide Caption 19 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline July 30, 2015 – South Korean billionaire and former FIFA vice president Chung announces his intention to run for the top job in world soccer. Hide Caption 20 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline July 29, 2015 – European football chief Platini, seen here with Blatter (left), is the leading candidate to replace the outgoing president. The former France captain is also a vice-president in FIFA's Executive Committee. Hide Caption 21 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline May 14, 2010 – A turbulent period for FIFA began in May 2010 when the world's governing body for soccer was presented with official bid documents by Australia, England, Netherlands/Belgium, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Russia, Spain/Portugal and the United States for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. During the ceremony at its Swiss headquarters, FIFA announced dates for inspections of the bidding nations from July-September. Hide Caption 22 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline May 16, 2010 – British newspaper Mail On Sunday reveals that English bid leader David Triesman (pictured here with soccer star David Beckham) was secretly recorded making comments about alleged attempts by Spain and Russia to bribe referees at the imminent 2010 FIFA World Cup. Hide Caption 23 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline May 10, 2011 – Just a few weeks before FIFA's presidential vote, former English Football Association chairman David Triesman testifies at a UK parliamentary enquiry into England's failed 2018 bid. Under the cover of parliamentary privilege, Triesman accuses FIFA Executive Committee members Warner, Leoz, Teixeira and Worawi Makudi of trying to secure cash and privileges in return for their vote. In other evidence submitted to the committee from the Sunday Times, it was alleged that FIFA vice-president Hayatou along with fellow Executive Committee member Jacques Anouma has been paid $1.5 million to vote for Qatar as the 2022 World Cup host. All those accused, and the Qatar Football Association, strenuously deny the allegations. Hide Caption 27 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline May 26, 2011 – FIFA announces it will investigate Warner (pictured), who ran the CONCACAF federation covering Central and North America, and Mohamed Bin Hammam, head of the Asian Football Confederation, over bribery allegations. It follows a report by fellow Executive Committee member Chuck Blazer alleging that they paid $40,000 worth of bribes to secure the support of members of the Caribbean Football Union. They deny the claims, with Warner promising a "tsunami" of revelations to clear his name. Bin Hammam claims the accusations are part of a plan to force him to withdraw as a candidate for FIFA's presidency. He is incumbent Blatter's only opponent in FIFA's presidential election due to be held June 1. Hide Caption 28 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline May 27, 2011 – FIFA says it will expand its corruption probe to include Blatter, after Bin Hammam claimed Blatter knew about cash payments he was accused of giving to national football association in exchange for pro-Hammam votes during Qatar's 2022 World Cup bid. Blatter maintains that the allegations are "without substance," and two days later is exonerated by FIFA's Ethics Committee. Hide Caption 29 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline May 29, 2011 – But FIFA's Ethics Committee upholds the complaints against Bin Hammam (pictured) and Warner. Bin Hammam is effectively barred from standing in the FIFA leadership election. Warner's tsunami turns out to be an email, where secretary general Valcke seems to suggest that Qatar "bought" the right to host the 2022 World Cup. After initially threatening legal action, Qatar withdraws its complaint when Valcke explains he was referring to Qatar's large, and legal, campaign budget, rather than bribes. Warner faces no further action following his resignation and the presumption of innocence remains. Hide Caption 30 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline June 1, 2011 – Despite a last minute attempt by the English FA to postpone the vote -- a proposal which garnered just 17 out of the available 208 votes -- Blatter is re-elected for a fourth term as president of FIFA at the 61st FIFA Congress at Hallenstadion in Zurich. He vows to learn from past mistakes and undertake a reform agenda. Hide Caption 31 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline July 23, 2011 – Bin Hammam is banned for life by FIFA after a two-day hearing into bribery allegations. The ban is annulled a year later due to lack of evidence. Hide Caption 32 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline October 21, 2011 – Blatter announces the introduction of four new task forces and a "Committee of Good Governance" aimed at reforming the organization and repairing its reputation. Hide Caption 33 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline March 30, 2012 – FIFA announces its executive committee has approved proposed changes to its Ethics Committee , splitting it into two entities -- one to investigate allegations and another to rule on them. It follows a report by the Independent Governance Committee (IGC) commissioned after Bin Hammam's ban, that found FIFA's past handling of corruption scandals had been "unsatisfactory." Hide Caption 34 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline April 24, 2012 – The Council of Europe, a watchdog that oversees the European Court of Human Rights, criticizes Blatter in a damning report into FIFA's handling of bribery allegations . The report says it would be "difficult to imagine" that the FIFA president would have been unaware of "significant sums" paid to unnamed FIFA officials by sports marketing company International Sports and Leisure (ISL) in connection with lucrative contracts for World Cup television rights. However it makes no allegations that he had any involvement in corruption. Hide Caption 35 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline January 9, 2013 – FIFA imposes a worldwide lifetime ban from football on 41 players from Korea who became embroiled in match-fixing activities in their domestic league, extending a ban handed down by the Korea Football Association (KFA) in 2011. The charges relate to alleged match-fixing in Korea's domestic K-League competition. All but one case were centered on offering or accepting bribes to throw matches. Hide Caption 38 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline February 4, 2014 – A report by police agency Europol reveals that 380 matches across Europe have been fixed by an Asia-based crime syndicate, including World Cup and European Championship qualifiers as well as the continent's top club competitions. Scores of people have been arrested across 15 countries, it says. FIFA vows to act on the revelations, but says it will need help from outside agencies to eradicate match-fixing. Hide Caption 39 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline March 11, 2013 – FIFA says executive committee member Vernon Manilal Fernando of Sri Lanka has been suspended at the request of Garcia and Eckert, co-chairs of the investigatory and adjudicatory bodies of the Ethics Committee respectively. No details of his alleged transgression were released, but FIFA said the decision was based on alleged violations of its Code of Ethics, including conflicts of interest, offering and accepting bribes, bribery and corruption, "in order to prevent the interference with the establishment of the truth with respect to proceedings now in the adjudicatory chamber." He is later given a lifetime ban , which he unsuccessfully appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Hide Caption 40 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline April 30, 2013 – An internal investigation by FIFA's Ethics Committee clears Blatter of misconduct in the bribery scandal, but his predecessor, Brazilian Havelange, resigns as honorary president for his part in the scandal. Havelange and former executive committee members Teixeira and Leoz were all found to have accepted illegal payments from former marketing partner International Sports and Leisure (ISL) between 1992 and 2000. Hide Caption 41 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline May 6, 2013 – FIFA's Ethics Committee suspends outgoing executive committee member Blazer (pictured back right) for 90 days "based on the fact that various breaches of the Code of Ethics appear to have been committed" by the American. Blazer is former general secretary of CONCACAF, the body which governs football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, and his suspension follows a report by its integrity committee. Blazer denies any wrongdoing. Hide Caption 42 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline June 13, 2014 – German footballer Franz Beckenbauer, the only man to win the World Cup as captain and coach, is provisionally suspended from any football-related activity for 90 days for failing to cooperate with a FIFA corruption investigation. FIFA says Beckenbauer had been asked to help with its Ethics Committee's probe into allegations against Qatar 2022 and the World Cup bidding process. Beckenbauer tells German media that he did not respond to questions by the chairman of the Ethics Committee's investigatory body because they were in English and he did not understand them. Hide Caption 43 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline Eckert (pictured), chairman of the adjudicatory chamber of FIFA's Ethics Committee, releases a summary of the committee's investigation into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup. The summary, by Eckert, says Qatar and Russia were not guilty of any alleged corruption, clearing them of wrongdoing. Garcia, the author of the full report, and chairman of the Ethics Committee's investigatory body, wanted the report to be published in full. Garcia says the summary contains "incomplete and erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions detailed in the investigatory chamber's report." Hide Caption 44 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline November 18, 2014 – FIFA lodges a criminal complaint with the Swiss judiciary relating to the "international transfers of assets with connections to Switzerland, which merit examination by the criminal prosecution authorities." Hide Caption 45 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline December 17, 2014 – Garcia resigns as chairman of the investigatory body of the Ethics Committee, following FIFA's decision to throw out his appeal after he complained about the way his report into the World Cup bidding process had been summarized by Eckert. Hide Caption 46 of 48

Photos: FIFA corruption scandal timeline December 19, 2014 – FIFA decides to publish a redacted version of Garcia's investigative report into alleged corruption surrounding the bidding process for the tournaments. The decision was unanimously endorsed by FIFA's 25-person executive committee. Hide Caption 47 of 48