. . . vows to clear name
Suspended UEFA chief Micheal Platini said he remains determined to overturn the eight-year ban he was handed by Fifa’s ethics committee last month, but that the deadline for the February 26 election is too short and renders his candidacy impossible.
Platini told French sports newspaper L’Equipe that he would concentrate on fighting his eight-year ban from football, as he abandoned his bid to contest the FIFA election on February 26.
“I’m withdrawing from the race for Fifa presidency,” Platini told the Associated Press. “The timing is not good for me. I don’t have the means to fight on equal terms with the other candidates. I have not been given the chance to play the game. Bye bye Fifa, bye bye Fifa presidency.”
Platini’s bid to succeed Blatter and take football’s top job had been put on hold because of a payment he received from his former mentor back in 2011.
Blatter and Platini were banned for eight years last month for conflict of interest in a 2 million Swiss franc (Dh7.34m) payment deal that is also the subject of a criminal investigation in Switzerland.
Platini said he still hopes to clear his name at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The 60-year-old Frenchman was not authorized to bypass Fifa’s appeal procedure, which states that he will only be able to turn to CAS once Fifa’s appeal committee will have ruled on the case.
“I’ve spent more time in hearing rooms than on football pitches speaking about 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 or football news,” said Platini, refusing to call the past three months the most difficult period of his life. “I’m taking this philosophically, let’s wait and see what happens. But injustice is revolting me and I’m trying to fight it.”
Platini and Blatter were cleared of corruption charges in December but suspended for a series of breaches including conflict of interest. But Platini, who worked at Fifa as Blatter’s special adviser from 1998 to 2002, said he has no regret over the payment.
“I can’t have any regret in that story because things fell upon my head while I haven’t done anything wrong,” Platini said during the interview in a Nyon hotel. “I’m struggling to understand what happened, unless there was a will somewhere to prevent me from bidding.”
Without naming them, Platini asserted that “many national federations wanted me as president” and that he received about 100 letters of support as well as 50 promised votes.
“I had 150 associations thinking that I’m the right person to solve Fifa’s problems,” Platini said. “It won’t happen. But there is no age limitation, so maybe I’ll come back in 20 years. Who knows?”
The former Juventus player did not give explicit support to Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino, who has been backed by Europe’s governing body in a candidacy prompted by the suspension imposed by Fifa on Platini.
“Europe needed a candidate and the executive committee chose Gianni Infantino,” Platini said. “Let’s see how things work out and see if Gianni can win. I don’t think it will be easy.”
Platini’s fall from grace has been quick, spectacular and unexpected. Just four months ago, he was considered the favourite in the race.
But his campaign derailed after he was questioned on Sept. 25 in a Swiss federal investigation of suspected criminal mismanagement at FIFA.
Platini was paid in February 2011, just before Blatter began campaigning for re-election against Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar. Platini’s Uefa urged its members weeks before the June 2011 election to back Blatter, who was elected unopposed when Bin Hammam was implicated in bribery.
Few Fifa officials knew of the Platini payment, which emerged during a wider Swiss probe of the governing body’s business affairs, including suspected money laundering in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests.
