Platini hurries plea to CAS in bid to reclaim UEFA leadership in time for Euro 2016
LAUSANNE: Banned UEFA president Michel Platini has registered an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport against his six-year ban from all football by the FIFA ethics committee writes KEIR RADNEDGE.
Platini hopes to to clear his name in time to preside for UEFA over the European Championship finals in his native France in June and July.
Michel Platini . . . contesting six-year ban
CAS confirmed today that the Frenchman was challenging a suspension for ethics code breaches which was reduced, last year, from eight years to six by the world federation’s appeal committee.
It is likely that the ethics committee will challenge Platini at CAS, claiming a heavier penalty.
Platini and former FIFA president Sepp Blatter were punished in December over a SFr2m ‘disloyal payment’ authorised to Platini by Blatter through FIFA in February 2011.
The original eight-year suspensions were reduced by two years in recognition of their services to the game. Both deny wrongdoing but were not satisfied by the appeal verdict.
Platini reacted to an “insulting” and “shameful” decision, by saying it was designed to prevent him from challenging for the FIFA presidency, but told L’Equipe last Thursday: “I’m not going to commit suicide.”
In a statement on Wednesday, CAS said: “Michel Platini has filed an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the decision issued by the FIFA appeal committee on February 24, 2016.
“In appealing to the CAS, Michel Platini seeks to annul the decisions taken by the adjudicatory chamber of the FIFA ethics committee and by the FIFA appeal committee which lead to him being declared ineligible to take part in football-related activity at national and international level for six years.
“A CAS arbitration procedure is in progress. First, the parties will exchange written submissions and a panel of three arbitrators will be constituted. The panel will then issue directions with respect to the holding of a hearing. Following the hearing, the panel will deliberate and on a later date, it will issue a decision in the form of an arbitral award.”
Platini’s suspension ruled him out of the race to replace Blatter at the head of FIFA – a pursuit which was won by his UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino.
Speaking about Platini last week, Blatter told French radio station RTL: “For a certain time, I’ve seen that there is a kind of conspiracy at FIFA, firstly against Michel Platini, so that he doesn’t become president of FIFA. I find this sad.”
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