UEFA President Michel Platini had no written contract for the 2M Swiss francs FIFA paid him in '11, which is the "subject of criminal proceedings" in Switzerland and a FIFA ethics committee investigation, according to David Conn of the London GUARDIAN. According to sources with knowledge of the payment, Platini and FIFA President Sepp Blatter are understood to have "told investigators the money was paid due to an agreement they made orally" when Platini worked as Blatter's advisor at FIFA between '98 and '02. Platini, who has made four statements about the payment "but given no detailed explanation" since the Swiss attorney general, Michael Lauber, announced it is "subject to criminal proceedings," has said FIFA did not pay him from '98-02 because of the organization's "financial situation at the time." Yet even if such a payment was "validly due, despite there being no agreement in writing to document it," and FIFA did "genuinely struggle to pay it" in '02, Swiss law limits to five years employees' claims for money owed. This perception -- that the payment "was in fact time-barred and therefore no longer legally owing" -- is understood to form part of both Lauber's criminal proceedings and the investigation by FIFA's ethics committee, which last week suspended Blatter and Platini from football activities for 90 days. FIFA's ethics committee is "understood also to be investigating whether the payment breached the requirement" in FIFA's ethics code for football people to avoid "existing or potential conflicts of interest." Platini reportedly did have a normal FIFA contract of employment during his years working as Blatter's adviser, which paid him a salary of 300,000 Swiss francs a year (GUARDIAN, 10/11).
PLATINI APPEALS BAN: In London, Teddy Cutler reported Platini has lodged an appeal against his 90-day ban from all national and int'l football-related activities, while the French Football Federation said that it "will back him" should he go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Platini has formally appealed the suspension, which lasts, like Blatter's, for 90 days "with an option to extend for another 45." He "still intends to run as a candidate in the presidential election." In a "strongly-worded statement," CONMEBOL offered its "full support to Platini," describing his ban as "untimely and disproportionate." CONMEBOL said, "The presumption of innocence is a fundamental right that has to be considered. Mr. Platini has not been found guilty of any charge, therefore the provisional ban jeopardizes the integrity of the electoral process to the FIFA presidency, of which Mr. Platini is a candidate." Platini also retains the backing of the FFF, which released a statement saying, "The FFF has adopted the principle of an appeal if the decision of the Fifa appeal committee does not go Michel Platini's way" (LONDON TIMES, 10/10). The AP's Rob Harris reported although Platini's ban expires before the scheduled election date, "he is unlikely to pass FIFA integrity checks after the Oct. 26 deadline for the submission of candidacies." Although FIFA "quickly named an acting president" -- Issa Hayatou -- as required by its statutes, UEFA has not elevated its senior VP, Angel Maria Villar, "to temporarily fill Platini's job" (AP, 10/10).
BLATTER FIGHTING ON: The LONDON TIMES reported Blatter has "vowed to fight on despite the damage to his reputation" from the imposition of a 90-day suspension from world football. In an interview with Swiss newspaper Schweizer am Sonntag, he said that he would "continue to defend his reputation despite the swirl of allegations and accusations" surrounding him and Platini. Blatter: "I'm a fighter. They can destroy me, but they can't destroy my life's work." The paper reported that the ethics committee -- whose spokesperson said that Blatter "had been given the chance to put his case" -- had forbidden him to speak about world football's governing body. Blatter said that he was "surprised by the ban." But he said, "I am doing well and I feel good." He added that he had left his office at FIFA's Zurich headquarters (LONDON TIMES, 10/11).
CRISIS MEETING: REUTERS' Simon Evans reported two sources said that FIFA is "discussing delaying the election for its next president." It is a move that could give Platini "more time to appeal against his ban" from the game and then stand to replace Blatter. The development came as FIFA said its exec committee would hold a crisis meeting on Oct. 20 at its headquarters in Zurich. It "did not say what would be discussed, but that committee is the only body with the power to delay the vote," currently scheduled for Feb. 26. Two sources said that a postponement of the election "was already being discussed within FIFA and its member organizations." A FIFA spokesperson said, "For the time being the schedule is as it is." The spokesperson added that she "did not wish to speculate on the issue" (REUTERS, 10/9). The BBC reported former U.K. Sports Minister Hugh Robertson said that the FA "should withdraw its support" for Platini. Asked if the FA should "drop" Platini, Robertson said, "I think they should, yes." Robertson believes FIFA needs a "total clearout" by an external candidate. Robertson: "This has been, even for seasoned FIFA watchers, a pretty dramatic week" (BBC, 10/11). REUTERS' Michael Shields reported a FIFA advisory panel is "pressing ahead to draft reforms" despite the suspension of Blatter and other senior officials amid corruption investigations. FIFA Reform Committee Chair François Carrard said, "This has no influence on the reform process itself because our work continues." He stressed the committee's efforts were "independent of the people in charge at FIFA." Carrard "gave no details of what his group was considering." It "remains unclear" if his panel will incorporate radical reforms proposed last month by FIFA Audit & Compliance Committee Independent Chair Domenico Scala (REUTERS, 10/10).
CHUNG TO APPEAL: REUTERS' Brian Homewood reported FIFA presidential candidate and VP Chung Mong-joon has said he will appeal to the CAS after he was banned for six years on Thursday. The South Korean described the ruling in a statement on Friday as a "shameful attempt" to punish his "open criticism" of FIFA. The six-year ban will "almost certainly end Chung's hopes" of running to succeed Blatter. Chung said that he had been banned for what he called "vague articles" in the FIFA code of ethics relating to matters such as "duty of disclosure" and "confidentiality" (REUTERS, 10/9).
MONEY TALKS: ESPN's Vivek Chaudhary reported the "downfall of FIFA's head honchos" likely began when four of the governing body's high-profile sponsors -- Visa, McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Budweiser -- issued statements last Friday calling for Blatter to resign. And things "have moved quickly since." University of Brighton professor Alan Tomlinson said, "The sponsors have certainly ratcheted things up, and this is one of the main reasons why the ethics committee has, for once, acted quite swiftly. The normal procedure is for the accused to be initially heard and then, perhaps, issued with a provisional suspension, pending a full inquiry. The sponsors have told FIFA that they have had enough and this has had a huge impact on recent events. This whole thing has come down to money because that is the one thing that people within FIFA understand" (ESPN, 10/9).
TIME TO CLEAN HOUSE: In London, Matt Dickinson wrote Thursday's suspensions "should have felt like a historic moment as Blatter was forced to leave his office in ignominy after 17 years as president, the toppling of an old-world despot, but there were no ecstatic crowds running through FIFA House liberating the place." The old guard "does not fall but staggers on." Such is the confusion that people "could not even agree" if Thursday's moves "came as a relief or not" (LONDON TIMES, 10/9). USA TODAY's Nancy Armour wrote in the "murky cesspool that is FIFA ... everybody needs to go." ExCo members, "the congress, the folks waiting in the wings to have their pockets lined -- all of them." There "might be one or two honorable people at FIFA who could lead the clean-up efforts ... but the corruption and fraud is so endemic, so systemic, that everyone is tainted" (USA TODAY, 10/9). In N.Y., Juliet Macur wrote if FIFA "were a building, it would have been condemned by now." There "doesn’t seem to be anybody left to oversee the job." FIFA "has to stop trying to fix itself by making piecemeal and temporary repairs." It "must knock itself to the ground and rebuild itself anew, with strong, uncompromised parts" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/9). A LONDON TIMES editorial stated the suspensions are "welcome" but "also overdue." Their suspensions "must be final and, with it, FIFA must grasp the opportunity to reform its institutions, stamp out corruption and embrace transparency in its practice, including in its election of a new president" (LONDON TIMES, 10/9). In London, Paul Hayward wrote with FIFA's three most powerful execs "now on the podium of alleged infamy, FIFA has ceased to exist in any moral or bureaucratic sense and needs to be taken over by the Swiss government like a corrupt bank" (London TELEGRAPH, 10/9).
