CAS to announce Platini decision on Friday

LONDON (Reuters) - Sport's highest tribunal will announce its decision on Friday whether or not to temporarily lift the 90-day suspension on Michel Platini, barring him from seeking the presidency of football's scandal-plagued governing body FIFA.

CAS to announce Platini decision on Friday

(Reuters)





Platini, the European football boss who until recently was seen as the man to lead FIFA out of its worst ever graft crisis, was suspended by FIFA's ethics committee on Oct. 8 pending a full investigation into his conduct.

Sepp Blatter, who has been FIFA president since 1998, was also suspended after being swept up by a crisis that has led to criminal investigations into the sport in both Switzerland and the United States.

The Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said in a statement on Thursday its panel had heard the parties' arguments, and would announce its decision on Platini at around 10.00am local time (0900 GMT) on Friday.

Former France captain Platini, president of UEFA since 2002, has registered as a candidate for the Feb. 26 election to choose a successor to Blatter, but cannot run while banned.

Even a temporary lifting of the provisional ban by CAS could allow Platini to run, although FIFA's electoral commission said it would study the case depending on the timing.

Platini was provisionally suspended after becoming embroiled in the long-running saga of corruption in football's world governing body.

An investigation centres on a 2 million Swiss franc payment from FIFA to Platini in 2011 for work he completed between 1998 and 2002.

Both Blatter and Platini deny any wrongdoing. They appealed against their bans to FIFA but they were rejected in November.

FIFA's ethics committee has said it expects to make a final decision in the case, which could involve a ban of several years for both men, by the end of December.

The FIFA corruption scandal broke in May with a police raid and arrests of football officials at a Zurich hotel just before a congress of the body.

Some 14 officials, including two former vice-presidents, have been indicted in the United States.

The allegations of corruption within FIFA prompted Blatter to say in June he would resign, days after being re-elected for a fifth term.





(Writing by Ossian Shine and Martyn Herman; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world