Things have gone from bad to worse for UEFA President, Michel Platini as the FIFA ethics committee has recommended he should not participate for life in all football related activities.
The Frenchman and FIFA President Sepp Blatter are presently serving a 90-day suspension following a ‘disloyal payment’ of $2 million to the Frenchman in 2011 for duties supposedly performed nine years before.
Both parties have since denied the allegations with claims there was an ‘oral agreement’ between them which does not contravene FIFA statutes. In light of the recent development, Platini’s lawyer Thibaud d’Ales has described FIFA’s life ban proposal as a “scandal” and “excessive”.
FIFA’s adjudicatory committee, led by German judge Hans Joachim Eckert, announced on Monday that it has opened a case against the pair after receiving the findings of the ethics committee with a decision expected in December.
Platini, 60, has seen his bid to succeed Blatter in next year’s election put on hold pending the outcome of the ongoing probe of the Zurich-based body. He is one of six candidates left in the race, with Jordanian prince Ali bin Al Husein emerging as favourite given the recent turn of events.