Platini hits back over FIFA payment row – Soccer body’s leaders meet amidst latest scandal storm 

This news has been read 7033 times!

A combination of pictures made on June 3, 2014 shows UEFA President Michel Platini (left), taken on Feb 22, 2014 in Paris and FIFA President Sepp Blatter taken on Oct 4, 2013 in Zurich. Platini has admitted that there is no written contract for the FIFA 1.8 million euro payment paid by Blatter, it was reported on Oct 19 in an interview given to French daily newspaper Le Monde. (AFP)
A combination of pictures made on June 3, 2014 shows UEFA President Michel Platini (left), taken on Feb 22, 2014 in Paris and FIFA President Sepp Blatter taken on Oct 4, 2013 in Zurich. Platini has admitted that there is no written contract for the FIFA 1.8 million euro payment paid by Blatter, it was reported on Oct 19 in an interview given to French daily newspaper Le Monde. (AFP)

PARIS, Oct 19, (Agencies): UEFA chief Michel Platini on Monday admitted he had no written contract for a $2.0 million payment from FIFA president Sepp Blatter as his chances of replacing the Swiss veteran as head of the world body nosedived ahead of a key FIFA council meeting in Zurich on Tuesday. In his first interview since being handed a 90-day suspension from all footballrelated activities by FIFA, the former star player for France and Juventus told Le Monde that, although he had nothing in writing, he had made a “man to man” agreement with Blatter over the contested remuneration. Platini added that, as he understood it, under Swiss law “an oral contract is worth a written contract”.

FIFA is based in Zurich and is subject to Swiss law. FIFA chief Blatter, who is also serving a 90-day suspension amid a huge corruption scandal engulfing the game, said last week that the payment made to Platini in 2011 for consultancy work carried out years previously, was “a gentleman’s agreement”. Platini, who also had a spell as France coach, told Le Monde he felt Blatter was seeking to “kill me politically” over the payment which looks to have doomed any chance of his succeeding him. He had been seen as favourite to take over in February until he was named in a Swiss criminal investigation into Blatter’s management of FIFA.

“It was a contract I had with Platini, a gentleman’s agreement,” said the 79- year-old Blatter in an interview with Swiss media RROTV. The suspensions on Blatter and 60-yearold Platini, were announced as Swiss authorities conduct a criminal investigation into corruption allegations at the scandal- tainted world football governing body. Platini told Le Monde he felt “shame at being dragged through the mud”. He explained that Blatter had wanted him to work alongside him at FIFA after the Swiss took over but he turned down the request as he was organising that year’s World Cup which France hosted and won.

Blatter then came back and asked for his services as an advisor, asking “how much do you want?” Platini said he replied: “A million.” Asked to specify which currency he said: “Whatever you want, rubles, pounds, dollars.” He said Blatter agreed to pay a million Swiss francs per year (around $770,000 at the time). Platini added: “I am not a money man” and said he told Blatter to “choose what you want to pay me”, saying he had full trust in FIFA.

Blatter was duly elected to head FIFA and Platini said: “I started working in the September.” He said several months passed with no payments to him and he asked at the time if there was a problem. Blatter said that it was difficult to pay him three times the 300,000 Swiss francs that FIFA’s secretary general was earning at the time. Quoting Blatter, Platini said: “‘So we will draw up a contract for 300,000 Swiss francs and give you the balance later.’ “But later never came.”

FIFA’s congress is due to meet on February 26 to elect a new president, but Platini’s chances of succeeding Blatter have been badly hit by the payment row. The Frenchman’s comments to Le Monde come just a day ahead of an extraordinary meeting of the FIFA executive committee, called to discuss the spiralling crisis which erupted in May with the arrest of FIFA officials ahead of a top meeting in Zurich. Blatter and Platini will both be banned from attending the gathering, which will hear the first recommendations from FIFA’s reform committee, tasked with suggesting changes within the organisation’s corridors of power.

In Singapore, The president of the Malaysian soccer champions has called on FIFA to investigate the local football association (FAM), saying they had failed to tackle corruption and were hoarding broadcast revenues from the clubs. Tunku Ismail ibni Sultan Ibrahim, whose Johor Darul Ta’zim FC have won back-back Super League titles and are through to the final of the regional AFC Cup, said the FAM were culpable for the country’s slide to a worst-ever FIFA ranking of 171st after a record 10-0 defeat to United Arab Emirates last month.

This news has been read 7033 times!

Related Articles

Back to top button

Advt Blocker Detected

Kindly disable the Ad blocker

Verified by MonsterInsights