Michel Platini loses appeal against his FIFA football ban
March 5, 2020
Former UEFA President Michel Platini has lost his appeal against his football ban over a 2011 payment from former FIFA boss Sepp Blatter. The court found that the FIFA-imposed ban was neither "excessive nor arbitrary."
Image: Reuters/G. Fuentes
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In a unanimous decision, the seven judges at the European Court of Human Rights have dismissed Michel Platini's appeal against his 2015 football ban.
A statement posted on the court's website on Thursday said the judges had determined that the former UEFA president's suspension from football-related professional activity was justified and had not violated his human rights.
"The court found in particular that, having regard to the seriousness of the misconduct, the senior position held by Mr Platini in football's governing bodies and the need to restore the reputation of the sport and of FIFA, the sanction did not appear excessive or arbitrary," it said.
This was a fifth legal defeat for the now 64-year-old former head of European football's governing body, who also lost appeals at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and Switzerland's supreme court.
In 2015, the world governing body FIFA banned Platini, who at the time was its vice-president, over a payment of two million Swiss francs (€1.8 million, $2 million at the current exchange rate), which he'd received from then-FIFA President Sepp Blatter in 2011.
FIFA seeking to recover funds
In reaction to Thursday's ruling, FIFA released a statement saying it had noted the European court's decision and would continue to seek to recover the two million francs from the payment in question.
However, attached to Platini's ban was a fine of 60,000 Swiss francs, which he previously said he would not pay while the European court's ruling was pending. He would now have to pay the fine to again become eligible for an active role in football.
pfd/mds (dpa, AP, Reuters)
Michel Platini: French football's playmaker turned politician
Michel Platini was seen as one of the world's best midfielders in the 1980s. His later career as a football functionary began in glory with the 1998 World Cup in France. But now, it could end in ignominy.
Image: picture-alliance/Sven Simon
Outstanding playmaker
With his deft feet, immense footballing brain and a developed nose for goal, Michel Platini was established as one of the world's best by the early 1980s, at the latest. After stints with Nancy and St. Etienne in Ligue 1, he moved to Juventus in 1982 and became a genuine global star. Playing for "the Old Lady," he won the league title twice and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1984.
Image: Imago Images/Buzzi
National hero
Platini also reveled in international glory. As the right hand to his coach Michel Hidalgo, he orchestrated play for France and led them to victory on home soil in the 1984 European Championships. In the final against Spain, Platini scored the game's only goal with a free kick. La Grande Nation celebrated its newest hero, who would later be crowned European sportsman of the year.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Robinson
Difficult times in the dugout
A little like Franz Beckenbauer, Platini took charge of the national team as a coach soon after the end of his playing career. He was just 33. But he struggled to emulate his success on pitch from the sidelines. He failed to qualify for the 1990 World Cup. After that, his France team went on to record 19 unbeaten games, only to drop out early at the 1992 European Championships. Platini then quit.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Master of ceremonies
A year later, Platini moved on to his next grand task, organizing the 1998 World Cup in France. Then 38, this marked the beginning of a meteoric rise to the top as a football functionary. The party proved a success, as hosts France won fueled by their next inspired number 10: Zinedine Zidane. Meanwhile, Platini struck a key alliance with Sepp Blatter in his 1998 bid to become FIFA president.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/P. Kovarik
Atop another European summit
By 2007, Platini hit the big time in European functionary terms. In January, he won the vote to become UEFA president, dethroning incumbent Lennart Johansson. Platini won his core support from smaller, primarily eastern European federations. He went on to secure automatic Champions League berths for "smaller" teams, also expanding the European Championship — from 16 to 24 participating countries.
Image: picture-alliance/Pressefoto Ulmer/B. Hake
Pupil, protege, and partner in crime?
Platini later announced his intent to succeed Sepp Blatter as the president of FIFA. But this handover from patron to protege never came to pass. Both Platini and Blatter were suspended from FIFA ahead of the unscheduled 2016 vote. The reason? An ominous payment of €1.8 million from Blatter to Platini, nominally for consultancy work. Instead of Platini, Gianni Infantino took the reins of FIFA.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/W. Bieri
Frozen out
Platini fights the allegations of corruption but with limited success. Even his appeal at the Court of Arbitration of Sport is unsuccessful. FIFA's ethics commission banned Platini from the group for eight years in December of 2015. The court found that while Blatter's payment to Platini could not be called corruption, it did also lack a legal basis. His suspension was later reduced to four years.
Image: picture-alliance/epa/T. Zenkovich
The definitive end?
Platini's ban from all football activities expires later this year. But now he has been questioned in connection with Qatar winning hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup. Does that mark the end for his FIFA career? His lawyer certainly doesn't see it that way: "He has done absolutely nothing wrong and affirms that he is totally unrelated to the facts [of the case], which are unknown to him."
