UEFA President Michel Platini Formally Withdraws From FIFA Presidential Race

UEFA President Michel Platini has formally withdrawn his candidacy for the FIFA presidency and said that he will "dedicate himself to overturning his eight-year ban," according to the PA. Platini said that he had "originally received 150 declarations of support when he announced he would run but had now been forced to pull out" of the election on Feb. 26 -- it is also "unclear whether any appeal process would have been completed by that date." The move by the 60-year-old "will clear the path for the other five candidates in the race to succeed" current FIFA President Sepp Blatter as there was "still the possibility that Platini could stand if he had overturned the ban on appeal." Platini said, "By removing myself, I make the choice to dedicate myself to my defense against a dossier where there is no mention of corruption, of falsification, forgery, where there is nothing anymore" (PA, 1/7).