BRUSSELS: Former Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene, the head of European football’s Financial Fair Play structure, has died at 73.

Dehaene, a Dutch-speaking Christian Democrat, had been diagnosed with cancer earlier this year but reportedly died after a fall in France.

Among a series of tributes from domestic and international politics was one from Michel Platini, French president of the European federation UEFA.

Platini said: “He was a statesman and a man of conviction. Through his love of football, he accepted to play a key role in the setting up of Financial Fair Play … We are all going to miss his passion, simplicity, irreproachable professionalism and great sense of duty.”

The timing of Dehaene’s death has come just as UEFA is facing its first serious steps in enforcing the FFP regulations.

A decision on nine clubs over breaches of the rules was delayed last Friday with Manchester City one of the focuses of uncertainty.

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