adminPARIS. — UEFA president Michel Platini has insisted he will stay in the race for the FIFA presidency despite being named in a Swiss criminal investigation into the world football body.
The French football legend said on Tuesday he had done “nothing wrong” and defended a $2 million payment approved by FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
Platini, who had been favourite to win an election for the FIFA president in February, spoke out amid reports that he and Blatter will soon be put under investigation by FIFA’s independent ethics committee.
“I am still determined to present myself as a candidate for the FIFA presidency so I can introduce the governance reforms that are necessary to restore the order and credibility to world football,” Platini told AFP. Swiss prosecutors say they are investigating whether Blatter approved a “disloyal” two million Swiss franc ($2 million) payment to Platini, to FIFA’s prejudice.
The money was paid for work carried out between 1998 and 2002 but the payment was only made in 2011. The Frenchman, who has led UEFA since 2007, said the delay was because FIFA could not afford to pay him earlier. — AFP.
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