Michel Platini still wants to run for FIFA presidency

UEFA chief Michel Platini is “still determined” to run for the FIFA presidency as successor to Sepp Blatter in next February’s elections,he told AFP on Tuesday, despite “doubts” about his integrity.

On the same day, according to a report by journalist Paul Kelso, Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber says he cannot rule out raiding UEFA HQ as part of his investigation into the Blatter-Platini payment. Plus, Lauber says that Platini is “somewhere between being witness and an accused person.”

Platini responded:

“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,” the Frenchman said.

But dismissing speculation that he had received “disloyal” payments from Blatter, Platini said his conscience was clear.

“There is no doubt about my integrity. I have done nothing wrong. That is why I have made myself fully available to cooperate with the relevant bodies and authorities to clarify whatever may be necessary,” he added.

On a day which saw FIFA ban former vice-president Jack Warner for life and the Swiss justice ministry approved the extradition of former Costa Rican federation boss Eduardo Li to the United States, where he faces a range of charges linked to corruption, Platini spoke to AFP about recent events which saw him implicated in a Swiss investigation.

He defended receiving a two million Swiss franc ($2 million) dollar payment from the world body in 2011 for work completed nearly a decade earlier.

“I was employed by FIFA as a special advisor to President Sepp Blatter, working on various matters related to football, such as the international football calendar. It was a full-time job,” Platini said.

“Like I explained to the Swiss authorities, I received only part of the agreed salary between 1998 to 2002.

“This occurred because, at the time, FIFA informed me that they would not be able to pay me the total agreed amount. Of course all the moneys received at the time were declared to the pertinent authorities.”