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Tag: Michel Platini

  • Platini freed after being questioned over Qatar World Cup

    Former France captain Michel Platini was released in the early hours of Wednesday after having been questioned over the awarding of the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals to Qatar.

    Platini’s lawyer, William Bourdon, said his client was innocent of all charges and that he had been questioned on “technical grounds.”

    “It was very long, given the number of questions. It was obviously always going to be long, since they asked me questions over Euro 2016, the World Cup in Russia, the World Cup in Qatar, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and FIFA,” Platini told reporters on Wednesday as he left the police station where he had been detained.

    “I replied to all the questions calmly, whilst still not knowing why I was there,” he added.

    Read Also: Swiss court rejects Platini’s appeal against FIFA ban

    The French national financial prosecutor’s office, which specialises in investigating economic crimes and corruption, has been leading a probe into the awarding of the 2022 tournament to Qatar.

    It is looking into possible offences including private corruption, conspiracy and influence-peddling.

    The decision in December 2010 to award the World Cup to Qatar surprised many.

    This was in view of the supposed lack of potential local audiences for the games, the extremely hot summer weather, and the poor performance of the country’s national squad.

    It will be the first Arab state to host the competition.

    Platini, who is a former head of European football association UEFA, is one of France’s most famous sportsmen and football stars.

    He led France to victory in the 1984 European Championship and played in two World Cup semi-finals.

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  • Swiss court upholds Platini’s FIFA ban

    Swiss court upholds Platini’s FIFA ban

    Switzerland’s highest court on Thursday rejected former European football boss, Michel Platini’s bid to overturn his four-year ban from the sport over ethics violations, the court said on Thursday.

    The Swiss Federal Court confirmed a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling last year that upheld Platini’s ban, Reuters reported.

    It was a decision stemming from a 2 million Swiss francs ($2.08 million) payment the former French football great received from FIFA in 2011.

    Platini, who has denied wrongdoing, was banned from football along with Sepp Blatter, the former FIFA president, who approved the payment.

  • UEFA approves reform package, dishes out 1m Euros to members

    UEFA approves reform package, dishes out 1m Euros to members

    European football governing body UEFA on Wednesday approved a reform package to bring its statutes in line with the world governing body FIFA.

    The European body will also dish out an additional 1 million Euros (about 1.07 million dollars) to each of its 55 members.

    UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin meanwhile warned that his association would not cave in to “blackmail’’ from the continent’s leagues.

    The leagues have started allowing their clubs to schedule games at the same time as Champions League and Europa League matches.

    The UEFA congress in Helsinki approved reforms which include a maximum three four-year terms for its president and executive committee members.

    The reforms also bring ethical and good governance into the UEFA statutes.

    Ceferin spoke of an overhaul of the foundations, adding that these changes are essential if we are to rebuild our image, restore our credibility and strengthen our legitimacy.

    Recent corruption affairs in world football have also harmed UEFA, with former president Michel Platini banned over a “disloyal payment” he received from former FIFA boss Joseph Blatter.

    Ceferin was elected UEFA president in 2016 in succession of Platini.

    The reforms came into effect July 1 but the term limits already apply to the eight new executive committee members elected on Wednesday.

    They are Zbigniew Boniak of Poland, Ireland’s John Delaney, Reinhard Grindel of Germany, Karl-Erik Nilsson of Sweden, Italy’s Michele Uva and Servet Yardimci of Turkey.

    Others are the re-elected David Gill of England and Dutchman Michael van Praag.

    Grindel was meanwhile also elected to complete the term of now-suspended compatriot Wolfgang Niersbach on the FIFA Council until 2019.

    New council members from Europe on full terms are Hungary’s Sandor Csanyi, Costakis Koutsokoumnis of Cyprus and Montenegro’s Dejan Savicevic.

    “The additional payments of 1 million Euros to each member-federation meanwhile are the result of big earnings from national team events such as Euro 2016,’’ Ceferin said.

    UEFA made a profit of 102.1 million Euros in the 2015 to 2016 season, which included the continental tournament in France.

    Its reserves have risen to 633 million Euros.

    “UEFA is not here to accumulate wealth, while [associations] struggle to develop football in the furthest reaches of [their] territories,’’ Ceferin said.

    He called for an ongoing dialogue with the European Club Association (ECA) and the European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL).

    They have both been critical of UEFA decisions such as a Champions League reform, and want a bigger saying in general.

    Ceferin named the stakeholders as partners they must respect.

    “We will never give in to the blackmail of those who think they can manipulate small leagues or impose their will on the associations based on the big income they generate.’’

    ECA officials Karl-Heinz Rummenigge of Germany and Andrea Agnelli of Italy were named full members of the executive committee where the EPFL also would be represented.

     

  • Suspended UEFA chief Platini takes case to CAS

    Suspended UEFA chief Platini takes case to CAS

    Suspended UEFA president, Michel Platini’s appeal against his six-year ban from soccer was being heard at sport’s highest tribunal on Friday with former FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, among the witnesses.

    Platini, who arrived in a taxi for the hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), is hoping that the ban will be overturned in time for the Euro 2016 tournament holding in France, Reuters reported.

    CAS said a decision could even be made as early as next week, depending on how the day-long hearing progresses.

    Platini, who was favourite to succeed Blatter as president FIFA before he was banned, was mobbed by reporters and cameramen as he entered the building in a leafy Lausanne suburb.

    He was banned for eight years in December along with Blatter over a payment of 2 million Swiss francs ($2.08 million) made to the Frenchman by FIFA in 2011 for work done a decade earlier.

    FIFA’s ethics committee, which imposed the ban, said the payment, made at a time when Blatter was seeking re-election, lacked transparency and presented conflicts of interest.

    Both men denied wrongdoing.

    Both had their bans reduced to six years by FIFA’s Appeal Committee in February after it took into account their services to the game.

     

  • Blatter, Michel Platini lose FIFA appeals

    Blatter, Michel Platini lose FIFA appeals

    FIFA appeals committee on Wednesday upheld the bans handed out to outgoing president of the soccer governing body, Sepp Blatter and s UEFA boss Michel Platini.

    But the suspensions have been reduced from eight to six years, the BBC reports.

    Both were found guilty of breaches surrounding a £1.3m ($2m) “disloyal payment” to Platini.

    They denied any wrongdoing and have said they will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

    Blatter, 79, added in a statement that he was “very disappointed by the appeal committee of FIFA.”

    Platini, 60, said it was “insulting and shameful” and a “political decision.”

    The committee said “activities and services rendered to FIFA, UEFA and football” was a mitigating factor.

    FIFA’s presidential election is due to take place on Friday to find Blatter’s replacement.

    Blatter and Platini said the payment honoured a verbal or gentleman’s agreement made in 1998 for work carried out by the Frenchman when he was a technical advisor for Blatter.

  • Blatter, Platini banned for eight years

    Blatter, Platini banned for eight years

    Suspended FIFA duo of Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were banned for eight years on Monday by FIFA’s Ethics Committee.

    The pair had been suspended for 90 days in October while an investigation was carried out into a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.02 million) payment by FIFA to Platini in 2011.

    Both men have denied any wrongdoing, Reuters reported.

  • My guilt decided in advance – Platini

    My guilt decided in advance – Platini

    Suspended European soccer chief, Michel Platini , has accused FIFA ethics committee of denying him a fair hearing on the corruption allegations against him and finding him guilty in advance.

    Platini declined to attend a meeting of the ethics committee on Friday, instead sending a statement which was read out by his lawyer and released to the media on Saturday.

    “I decided not to come before you to present my explanations in person. For one reason, and one only: I’ve already been judged, I’ve already been found guilty,” supersport.com quoted the former French midfielder as saying in the statement.

    Platini was the favourite to replace Sepp Blatter as head of football’s world governing body FIFA but has himself become mired in the corruption scandal engulfing the sport, in which dozens of former top officials and marketing executives have been indicted by United States authorities.

    “I no longer have confidence in the disciplinary bodies of FIFA. They have shown their bias, their prejudices, their inability to respect confidentiality, the presumption of innocence and the rights of the defence,” he added.

  • Platini loses suspension appeal

    Platini loses suspension appeal

    UEFA president, Michel Platini , on Friday failed in his bid to have his 90-day provisional ban from football activity lifted, the BBC reports.

    Platini, 60, was suspended with FIFA president Sepp Blatter in October while corruption claims are investigated.

    The duo denied any wrongdoing.

    They were suspended over allegations that a “disloyal payment” of £1.3m was made to Platini in 2011 for work he carried out for FIFA between 1998 and 2002.

  • FIFA committee wants Blatter, Platini sanctioned

    FIFA committee wants Blatter, Platini sanctioned

    The ethics committee of world’s soccer governing body FIFA said on Saturday it had completed its investigation into the conduct of FIFA President, Sepp Blatter and UEFA president, Michel Platini and requested sanctions against them.

    Both were provisionally banned for 90 days on October 8 pending the full investigation, engulfed by a deepening corruption scandal as the sport faces criminal investigations in Switzerland and the United States, Reuters reported.

    Blatter has been FIFA president since 1998. Platini has been head of European soccer’s governing body UEFA since 2007 and, until he was suspended, had been favourite to replace Blatter in the February 26 presidential election.

    “The investigatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee has submitted its final reports containing requests for sanctions against Joseph (Sepp) Blatter and Michel Platini to the adjudicatory chamber chaired by Hans-Joachim Eckert,” Reuters quoted the committee as saying in a statement.

    It did not give details of what the report had found or the sanctions it had requested.

    “For reasons linked to privacy rights and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, the chamber will not publish details of the concluded reports and the requested sanctions against the two officials.”

    Eckert heads the adjudicatory chamber which said in a separate statement it would decide whether to open formal proceedings and, if necessary, on sanctions “in due course.”

    Platini’s hopes of standing in the FIFA election have been put on hold because of his suspension.

     

     

  • FIFA confirms seven for presidential race

    FIFA confirms seven for presidential race

    FIFA on Wednesday confirmed seven candidates for next February extraordinary congress which is expected to produce a successor to the embattled Sepp Blatter.

    However, the football’s world governing body excluded former Trinidad and Tobago international, David Nakhid, from the race.

    The Zurich-based organisation gave no reason for rejecting Nakhid’s bid for its top job.

    The candidates are – the General Secretary of Europe soccer governing body, UEFA,  Gianni Infantino,  Bahraini Royal Family member, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and Liberian Football Association head, Musa Bility.

    Others are – UEFA president, Michel Platini, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, South African businessman, Tokyo Sexwale and ex-FIFA official, Jerome Champagne.