Fifa election to go ahead as planned in February

Executive committee confirms February date stands despite latest developments

The Fifa sign outside their headquarters in Zurich (Getty Images)

Fifa's executive committee has confirmed its presidential election will go ahead as planned on February 26 next year.

There had been uncertainty surrounding the vote after president Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini were handed provisional 90-day suspensions two weeks ago.

Fifa held an emergency meeting in Zurich on Tuesday and has, however, decided to retain the election date, with the deadline for nominations on Monday.

The governing body's twitter account read: "Fifa ExCo reconfirms 26 February 2016 as the date of the extraordinary elective congress in Zurich."

The decision places added doubt on Platini's bid for the presidency.

The Frenchman has already submitted his candidacy but is being investigated over a £1.35million payment received from Blatter in 2011, which he says relates to consultancy work completed nine years earlier.

Platini denies any wrongdoing and is awaiting the verdict of the FIFA appeals committee after challenging his suspension.

He told French newspaper Le Monde in an interview published on Monday that it was "shameful" his name was being "dragged through the mud".

In addition to Platini, former Fifa vice-president Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, former Trinidad and Tobago player David Nakhid, and Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa are expected to stand.

The election will decide the successor to Blatter, who has been president since 1998 but announced his decision to stand down in June, following the arrest of seven FIFA officials on corruption charges.

Swiss prosecutors then opened criminal proceedings against Blatter in September on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and a "disloyal payment" to Platini.

FIFA's ethics committee has previously been prevented from making public details of its investigations and decisions but the body said it had agreed on Tuesday to a change in the ruling.

"The committee agreed to an important change to the rules governing investigations and decisions made by the independent Ethics Committee," a FIFA statement read.

"Article 36 of FIFA's Code of Ethics will be amended to allow the Ethics Committee, at its discretion, to publish more information about its ongoing proceedings.

"The independent chairmen of the committee's two chambers, Hans-Joachim Eckert and Cornel Borbely, had strongly advocated such an amendment, which will increase the transparency and understanding of their work."

PA