October 1 – If ever proof were needed that all is not quite right at the top of FIFA and UEFA, tomorrow’s annual friendly game between the staff of both organisations has suddenly been postponed – relieving respective presidents Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini of coming face to face.
Blatter would usually travel to Platini’s UEFA headquarters in Nyon for the fixture. But in a statement FIFA said “in a joint decision it was agreed to postpone the UEFA-FIFA challenge 2015, which had been scheduled for Friday, 2 October, until further notice”.
The match would have taken place exactly a week after criminal proceedings were opened against Blatter, in part over a SFr2 million payment in 2011 to Platini. Both men have denied any wrongdoing.
The rift between Blatter and Platini widened recently when UEFA complained to FIFA about a widely circulated anonymously written article questioning Platini’s credentials. It subsequently emerged it was written by a FIFA staffer, Thomas Renggli, who resigned on September 1.
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