By Andrew Warshaw
October 12 – Just like the man he is endeavouring to succeed, UEFA president Michel Platini is appealing against his provisional 90-day suspension imposed by FIFA’s ethics committee while they further investigate his receipt of that infamous SFr2 million payment.
The 60-year-old Frenchman has been suspended along with FIFA president Sepp Blatter and secretary general Jerome Valcke though Valcke’s case is unconnected.
The suspension, which can be extended by 45 days, effectively prevents Platini from taking part in the presidential election on February 26 since it would end just a few days before the ballot. Technically he could be cleared by then but would not have been allowed to do any lobbying among FIFA’s 209 federations.
Nominations close on October 26 though there is likely to be pressure brought at an emergency FIFA executive committee meeting six days beforehand to postpone the election until the FIFA congress in Mexico in May. UEFA have also scheduled an emergency meeting this Thursday to work out how to proceed without their leader.
Platini has made contact with FIFA’s appeals committee, with a ruling reportedly possible within a week, while the French federation, on his behalf, is preparing a case to go directly the Court of Arbitration for Sport to argue that he should be allowed to continue to run.
Platini has also received support from Conmebol (the South American confederation) which said in a statement that the UEFA boss should be regarded as innocent until proven guilty.
“It is imperative that sporting justice continues its course in order to clarify all of the facts as soon and definitely as possible,” a Conmebol statement said. “At the same time the presumption of innocence is a fundamental right that has to be considered.
“Mr Platini has not been found guilty of any charge, therefore the provisional ban jeopardises the integrity of the electoral process to the FIFA presidency, of which Mr Platini is a candidate. The confederation, considering the above, believes that the ban is untimely and disproportionate.
“The confederation urges that the provisional ban imposed upon Mr Platini be reconsidered, and that Mr Platini be allowed, with full guarantees and without impairing his rights, to continue as a FIFA presidential candidate.”
The emergency meeting of the FIFA exco has been arranged following a call by several European members including England’s David Gill, Germany’s Wolfgang Niersbach and Belgium’s Michel D’Hooghe.
It is understood the election will be top of the agenda. Whilst postponing it could theoretically help Platini’s cause (provided he wins any appeal), there is likely to be strong opposition from other exco members who feel that any delay would only prolong FIFA’s agony when it desperately needs a fresh start.
“I have never known a situation like this,” d’Hooghe told Insideworldfootball. “We have a president and a general secretary suspended and we have to make FIFA more transparent so that what has happened in the past cannot be repeated. I don’t know whether the election will be postponed. There may be arguments on both sides. The most important thing is the future of FIFA.”
Platini is reported to be furious because he has not been judged guilty of any offence. However ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert ruled that the allegations, emanating from investigations by the Swiss authorities, merited a ‘protective’ suspension while the case is further examined. And despite a passionate defence of his integrity, Platini has still not fully addressed the main issue about why it took nine years for him to receive a substantive amount of money for work carried out between 1999 and 2022.
Meanwhile the English FA have been urged to drop its support for Platini by former Sports Minister Sir Hugh Robertson.
Robertson, who was part of England’s failed bid to host the 2018 World Cup, said switching allegiance from Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan in last May’s election that re-elected Blatter to Platini this time was questionable. Asked if the FA should now withdraw support for the Frenchman, Robertson said: “I think they should, yes.”
“We always thought the ethics committee was a child of Blatter,” Robertson added. “To see that turn against him and his most high-profile deputy Platini … makes this a very important week. They need to look for a high-quality external candidate.”
Damien Collins, who heads the NewFifaNow pressure group, also believes the FA should suspend their support of Platini until the investigation over the SFr2 million payment is complete. “They were wrong to jump on the Platini bandwagon and give their unconditional support as quickly as they did,” said Collins.
“My own view is that the election should be delayed but only so that an independent reform commission can be set up to run FIFA in the interim.”
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