Platini implicated in Fifa scandal
Michel Platini may have emerged as the favourite to
succeed Sepp Blatter as president of scandal-
riddled Fifa, but it is his close links to the veteran
Swiss that threaten to end his dreams of running
world football's governing body.
The current Uefa president and once one of the
greatest players in the world when he starred for
Saint-Etienne, Juventus and France in the 1980s,
Platini has tried to position himself as the man to
clean up an organisation brought to its knees by
endless corruption scandals in recent months.
But on Friday he was implicated as Swiss
authorities opened criminal proceedings against
Blatter, with the outgoing head of Fifa accused of
making a "disloyal payment" to Platini of two million
Swiss francs ($2.04 million, 1.8 million euros).
The office of Switzerland's attorney general said the
payment had been made in February 2011,
allegedly "for work performed between January
1999 and June 2002."
Platini insisted the payment was for contractual
work carried out for Fifa.
"Concerning the payment that was effected in my
favour, I want to clarify that this amount was paid
for work that I carried out in a contractual manner
for Fifa," Platini said in a statement.
"I am pleased to have been able to clarify this point
with the authorities."
DISTANCE HIMSELF
Platini gave his support to Blatter when the Swiss
won the 1998 Fifa presidential elections and was a
close ally of Blatter's for a long time, although he
sought to distance himself from the 79-year-old as
the scandal grew.
The Frenchman, a grandson of Italian immigrants,
turned 60 earlier this year, and having conquered
Europe as a player and then become Uefa chief in
2007, he wants to take on the huge task of
transforming Fifa's damaged reputation.
He quickly emerged as the favourite to win the
elections to replace Blatter, which will be held on
February 26, 2016, but his rivals, including South
Korea's Chung Mong-Joon, have accused him of
being tainted by association with the current Fifa
chief.
Chung said that Blatter and Platini once had a
"father and son" relationship even though the
Frenchman has turned against the Fifa leader.
"The core issue of this election is whether the 40-
year-old system of corruption should continue or
not," said Chung recently.
Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, who enjoyed Platini and
Uefa's support when he stood against Blatter in
May's elections for president, is standing again and
has turned against Platini, describing him as "not
good for football".
For a time, Platini was probably the greatest player
in the world and won the Ballon d'Or in 1983, 1984
and 1985.
After winning the French Cup with Nancy and a
league title with Saint-Etienne, he was lured to
Juventus in 1982 and it was while with the Italian
giants that he became a major international star.
The gifted playmaker won two Serie A titles with the
Turin side and a European Cup.
After coaching, Platini concentrated on becoming a
leading administrator since performing the role as
co-president of the organising committee of the
1998 World Cup in France.
After supporting Blatter's bid for the Fifa presidency
in 1998, he worked as vice-president of the French
Football Federation in 2001 and then took charge of
Uefa in 2007.
The man who has overseen the expansion of the
European Championship -- next year's finals in his
native France will feature 24 teams for the first time
-- has expressed confidence of succeeding Blatter
having opted not to stand against the veteran Swiss
in May's election.
UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTIONS
He has had widespread backing, but Platini has also
been criticised for his decision to support Qatar's
controversial bid to host the 2022 World Cup.
Platini was quick to admit that he voted for Qatar,
apparently in an attempt to show that his horizons
were not limited to Europe.
"I'm transparent, I am the only one who revealed
who I voted for and did so by my own initiative," he
told French sports daily L'Equipe in 2014.
"I have no regrets at all. I think it was the right
choice for Fifa and world football," he added of his
vote for Qatar.
Platini has denied he was influenced to vote for
Qatar by former French president Nicolas Sarkozy,
but the fact that his son Laurent works for a Qatar-
owned sports clothing company also raised
suspicions.
He also courted controversy over his refusal to
hand back a watch worth more than $25 000 that
was gifted to him by the Brazilian Football
Confederation at last year's World Cup.
"I'm a well-educated person. I don't return gifts,"
said Platini, despite Fifa's call for the watches to be
returned for a breach of their code of ethics.
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