Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini banned from FIFA for eight years

Presidents of the two most powerful soccer governing bodies in the world have been found guilty of violating FIFA's code of ethics. Current FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini have been suspended for eight years by the independent ethics committee of FIFA.

The most egregious event that led to this suspension appears to be a $2 Million payment to Platini than Blatter approved. The committee ruled that there was no legal warrant for that payment to be made and thus, ruled it a violation of ethics.

Back in May, United States Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, brought down the hammer on FIFA by unsealing a 47-count indictment against nine FIFA officials for crimes such as racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery.

Ever since that faithful day, the ax has been swinging above Blatter's head with the public just waiting for it to fall. While this suspension may not be a complete death blow to his career as a soccer official, it should be enough to finally remove him from power as FIFA president for good. A week after the original indictment was executed, Blatter announced his resignation as president, but stayed on at the position until a new election could be held.

One of the more likely candidates to win such election was believed to be Platini. A French soccer legend and long-time UEFA president seemed like a natural replacement for Blatter. However, now that he's been suspended as well, it eliminates any chance of him taking the presidency in the election.

Eight years is likely enough to ensure that neither official is able to rise to a powerful political position again, but if soccer's governing body is truly committed to clamping down on the issues of corruption that got them into this mess in the first place, a lifetime ban for each would've sent a clearer message.

While we wait for the FIFA election to name the newest leader of the world of soccer, it's important for the disgraced organization to find the perfect candidate who will ensure that the appropriate systematic changes are made to prevent a massive scandal like this from ever happening again.