Michael Platini To Resign As UEFA Boss As CAS Reduced Ban From Football To Four Years

Sepp Blatter & Michel Platini

 Michel Platini is to stand down as UEFA president after his six-year ban from football was reduced to four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) .

Platini was initially banned for eight years by a FIFA disciplinary committee over a £1.3m payment given to him by then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter in 2011.


The pair claimed the money was for work Platini did for Blatter between 1998-2002. His eight-year ban was cut to six by the FIFA appeals committee.

Platini had hoped to be cleared of all charges but the three-man CAS panel in Lausanne backed FIFA’s judgement that the payment was “unfair” and a “conflict of interests”.

Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were punished in December over a £1.3m 'disloyal payment'
Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were punished in December over a £1.3m ‘disloyal payment’
However, the panel also ruled that the six-year suspension was “too severe” and reduced it to four years.

In a statement, Platini said he viewed the ruling as a “profound injustice” and vowed to continue the fight to clear his name through the Swiss legal system.

The former France international will not be able to take any part, formally or informally, in Euro 2016 which takes place in his homeland.

Platini’s lawyers have confirmed he will resign as UEFA president in the next few days.
The court said Platini received the money “more than eight years after the end of his work relations, was not based on any document established at the time of the contractual relations and did not correlate with the alleged unpaid part of his salary.”

And in deciding the ban, the judges said Platini’s attitude in court was a factor in the verdict.
The ruling cited “the absence of any repentance and the impact that this matter has had on FIFA’s reputation”.

Michel Platini outside the Court of Arbitration for Sport
FIFA was also criticised by the court for knowing about the irregular payment for four years before the independent ethics committee opened an investigation.

The case ended Platini’s hopes of replacing Blatter as FIFA president.
The UEFA executive committee will meet next week in Basel to discuss replacing Platini. An election is likely in mid-September at a meeting of European football leaders in Athens.
Blatter is awaiting a CAS hearing to challenge his six-year ban.