Michel Platini's Euro 2016 Attendance Could be Stopped by FIFA
Michel Platini, who was invited by UEFA for the 2016 Euro championships, could have his invitation thwarted by the FIFA Ethics committee.
Highlights
-
Platini was banned by FIFA for financial mismanagement as UEFA head
-
Platini was UEFA president from 2007 to 2015
-
Platini was Sepp Blatter's presidential adviser from 1999-2002
UEFA's bid to invite its banned president Michel Platini to the European Championship might be thwarted by FIFA's ethics panel.
European soccer's governing body had believed a clarification from FIFA ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert gave the green light to invite Platini to its tournament - which starts on Friday - despite serving a four-year ban from soccer.
"The letter, signed by Mr. Eckert, says Mr. Platini can be invited in a personal capacity as long as he doesn't perform any official function," UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis said at the Stade de France, which is hosting Friday's Euro 2016 opener between host France and Romania in Group A.
"This will be transmitted to our executive committee and then they will make a decision probably about an invitation for Michel Platini for the whole of the tournament. As for Friday I do not expect he will be there."
But the adjudicatory chamber of the FIFA ethics committee reasserted the terms of the ban in response to the public interpretation by Theodoridis.
"Mr.Platini is currently banned from all football-related activities (sport, business and other)," Eckert's chamber said in a statement.
"He is not able to perform any activity that could create the appearance that he is still acting as a football official. Mr. Platini may, however, attend matches of the Uefa Euro 2016 in a personal capacity."
Attending matches in the VIP areas, mixing with soccer and political leaders, could still give the impression that Platini is there in an official capacity while banned.
Platini's communication team said that the former France great does not currently plan to attend matches at the month-long tournament.
Platini was the chief organiser of the 1998 World Cup, the last major soccer tournament to be staged in France. Its success helped him gain the job at Fifa, which ultimately led to his sanction last year.
Platini, who led France to Euro glory on home soil in 1998, was found guilty by Eckert in December of ethics violations for taking a payment of 2 million Swiss francs (USD 2 million) from Fifa in 2011. The money was uncontracted extra salary for working as Sepp Blatter's presidential adviser from 1999-2002.