KEIR RADNEDGE REPORTS: Michel Platini’s confidence in his innocence of all the financial accusations thrown at him from his time as a vice-president of FIFA – and president of UEFA – is back under scrutiny.

The Swiss public prosecutor’s office has confirmed that criminal proceedings against the ex-FIFA president Sepp Blatter have been extended to Platini.

The specific issue concerns an alleged unfair payment in 2011 of 2m CHF which Platini had claimed as a long-delayed payment for his work for FIFA between 1999 and 2002 before he became an elected official.

Platini has always insisted on his innocence although he has repeatedly been rebuffed in challenging a four-year FIFA ethics ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and Swiss Federal Court.

The suspension expired last October since when Platini has talked vaguely about a return to football in some unspecified role, even possibly the presidency of the international players’ union FIFPro.

An investigation into the affaire was opened by the Office of the Swiss Attorney-General in September 2015. Initially Platini was named only as a material witness.

An upgrading of his status was confirmed on June 5 by a FIFA-specialist prosecutor, Thomas Hildbrand regarding “criminal proceedings” against Blatter being “extended against the former president of UEFA, Michel Platini, on suspicion of participation in management unfair and for suspicion of forgery in the titles.”

############