Monday 23 November 2015 14:31, UK
Formal proceedings have been opened against FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini, the adjudicatory chamber of FIFA's ethics committee has announced.
The proceedings relate to a payment made to Platini by Blatter in 2011, and are based on the final reports submitted to the independent body by the ethics committee's investigatory chamber.
A decision is expected to be made next month, with the adjudication being chaired by German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert.
Platini and Blatter, who has revealed he was "close to death" after collapsing earlier this month, are currently suspended from all footballing activities for 90 days, although both deny any wrongdoing and say there was a verbal contract for the payment for Platini's work as Blatter's presidential advisor from 1998 to 2002.
A statement from FIFA read: "The adjudicatory chamber has studied the reports carefully and decided to institute formal proceedings against the two officials.
"For reasons linked to privacy rights and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, the adjudicatory chamber will not publish details of the sanctions requested by the investigatory chamber in its final reports.
"In the course of the proceedings, both parties will be invited to submit positions including any evidence with regard to the final reports of the investigatory chamber (art. 70 par. 2 of the FIFA code of ethics) and they may request a hearing (art. 74 par. 2 of the FCE).
"The adjudicatory chamber intends to come to a decision in both cases during the month of December."
Based on similar cases of wrongdoing, Platini and Blatter could face bans from all football of up to seven years if they are found guilty.
Investigators are understood to have called for suspensions based on four potential ethics code breaches: mismanagement, conflict of interest, false accounting and non co-operation with or criticising the ethics committee.
Korea's former FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-Joon was banned for six years last month and the allegations are at least as serious as those he was sanctioned for.
