Platini pulls out of FIFA race, vows to clear name
Suspended UEFA chief Michel Platini vowed to
clear his name of sleaze allegations and slammed
outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter as he pulled
out of the race to lead football’s world body.
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 will not present myself for the
presidency of FIFA. I am withdrawing
my candidature,” he said, in an
interview to be published in full on
Friday.
“I no longer have the time nor the means
to go to the voters, to meet people, to
fight against the other candidates.
“In withdrawing, I am dedicating myself
to my defence.”
Platini and Blatter were suspended for
eight years by FIFA’s ethics committee
over a $2 million payment made to
Platini in 2011 for work carried out
between 1999 and 2002.
The 60-year-old Platini said his ban has
made it impossible for him to put
together a campaign to take on the
sport’s most powerful job.
“It is a question of the calendar, but not
only that. How can you win an election
when you are prevented from
campaigning?” he said.
Platini laid the blame for his plight
squarely at the door of Blatter, 79,
claiming that the veteran Swiss wanted
his “scalp”.
“Everything started because of Blatter,
who wanted my head, who did not want
me to go to (lead) FIFA,” Platini was
quoted as saying.
“He said often that I would be his final
scalp, but he fell at the same time as
me.”
– ‘How did we get to this?’ –
Platini said he will concentrate his
resources on an appeal to the Court of
Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the FIFA
electoral commission which “claimed
that I had falsified accounts”.
The Frenchman said: “I have fought like
I have always fought in my life but I
have not been given the opportunity to
compete this time round.”
Platini’s decision to give up on his
dream of becoming FIFA president leaves
five declared candidates.
They are: Asian football head Sheikh
Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of
Bahrain, South African politician and
tycoon Tokyo Sexwale, former FIFA vice-
president Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of
Jordan, UEFA general secretary Gianni
Infantino, and Jerome Champagne, a
former FIFA assistant general secretary
from France.
Platini, a FIFA vice-president, and
Blatter were banned from all football-
related acivities by FIFA’s ethics
committee on December 21.
Platini insisted there was nothing illegal
in his oral contract he said was agreed
with Blatter. The salary agreement was
however never disclosed in FIFA
documentation until the payment was
made in 2011.
“I’m struggling to understand. Why?
How did we get to this? I did some work,
I asked to be paid, I sent an invoice, I
was paid, I paid my taxes on that. That
was in 2011,” he told AFP when the ban
was announced.
“There was a debt that was settled, full
stop! Then, in 2015, the Swiss court
wanted more information.
“Then it took off at FIFA and a lot of
people at FIFA are happy that this issue
happened.
“And here I am, suspended from all
football-related activity for eight years.”
Platini repeated his suspicions that the
timing of the ban was a deliberate
attempt to prevent him from standing in
February’s election.
“What was the FIFA ethics committee
doing between 2011 when I was paid
and 2015? Was it sleeping? Suddenly it
wakes up,” he scoffed.
“Ah yes, it wakes up in a FIFA election
year when I’m a candidate. It’s
amazing!”
Later Thursday, UEFA said in a
statement emailed to AFP that it
“continues to support the right of Michel
Platini to due process and the
opportunity to clear his name”.
0 Comments :
COMMENT