The Swiss, a former referee, did not reveal who had suggested that he throw his hat into the ring, but said that he is considering putting himself forward.

"I am simply studying the situation following some requests that I have received to be a candidate for the position," he told Reuters.

"I will monitor the situation, see how it develops in the next days and check the feasibility to see if it makes sense."

Zen Ruffinen often clashed with Blatter, who was suspended by FIFA for 90 days last week, and in 2002 authored a report accusing him of mismanagement of the organisation's finances.

Misleading accounting practices and evidence of conflicting interests were two issues alleged by Zen Ruffinen, with his work prompting 11 FIFA officials to launch a criminal complaint against his compatriot.

However, the action was eventually dropped and Zen Ruffinen was forced out of the governing body in the wake of Blatter's Presidential election victory over Issa Hayatou later that year.

Hayatou has now replaced Blatter as President on an interim basis after the Swiss' suspension, which followed accusations of him making a "disloyal payment" - one not in the interests of FIFA - of CHF 2 million (£1.3 million/$2.1 million/€1.8 million) to UEFA President Michel Platini.

Prosecutors last month opened a criminal investigation into Blatter, with an alleged "unfavourable contract" signed with the Caribbean Football Union also being probed.

Both Blatter and Platini, who was also hit with a 90-day suspension, deny wrongdoing and are appealing but the news is a major blow to the latter's hopes to succeed Blatter.

The Frenchman had declared his intention to stand but whether a campaign is now feasible remains open to question.

Also in the running is Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, who was defeated by Blatter in May before the latter announced that he would stand down in February as the scandal following the arrest of 14 FIFA officials in Zurich, on corruption charges, intensified.

South Korea's Chung Mong-joon was also set to stand but he was banned for six years last week after he was found guilty of infringing FIFA Ethics rules in relation to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process.

Brazilian legend Zico and Nigeria's Segun Odegbami have also indicated that they will run. 



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