Sepp Blatter's lawyer refutes reports of provisional 90-day suspension

Sepp Blatter's lawyer has insisted he has not been notified of any action against his client, despite reports on Wednesday that FIFA's ethics committee had recommended a 90-day suspension.

Early on Wednesday, the BBC, among several other news outlets, relayed details of a provisional ban against Blatter.

Hans-Joachim Eckert, the chairman of FIFA's adjudicatory chamber, would have to reach a final ruling, and that is expected Friday.

But lawyer Richard Cullen has refuted those claims:

We issue this statement in response to press reports about the FIFA Ethics Committee. President Blatter has not been notified of any action taken by the FIFA Ethics Committee. We would expect that the Ethics Committee would want to hear from the President and his counsel, and conduct a thorough review of the evidence, before making any recommendation to take disciplinary action.

The ethics committee convened in Zurich this week to discuss the possibility of removing Blatter from his post of 17 years following a Swiss investigation into his affairs.

Abdoulaye Makhtar Diop, a member of the adjudicatory chamber, confirmed in a statement that those discussions were taking place, while adding that UEFA president and FIFA executive committee member Michel Platini was also being considered.

Related: Report - FIFA's ethics committee discusses suspending Blatter, Platini

Swiss authorities interrogated Blatter last month on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and misappropriation, including an alleged "disloyal payment" totaling around $2 million to Platini for work performed between 1999 and 2002.

Both Blatter and Platini have denied any wrongdoing.

Blatter has already tendered his resignation, but won't step down until February, when new elections are due to be held.

In the event that he is removed prematurely, senior FIFA vice president Issa Hayatou is expected to assume the presidency in an interim role as the senior-most official in the organisation.

Hayatou was "reprimanded" by the International Olympic Committee in 2011 over alleged bribes.