FIFA ethics committee says Blatter not exempt from its rules

ZURICH (Reuters) - FIFA's ethics watchdog has rejected suspended President Sepp Blatter's claim that he is not subject to its rules and that only Congress can bar him from his role as head of the scandal-plagued global soccer body. Andreas Bantel, spokesman for the Ethics Committee, told Reuters on Thursday. "The FIFA code of ethics applies to anyone who is involved in football worldwide and there are absolutely no exceptions whatsoever." (Writing by Brian Homewood in Berne Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)