Michel Platini’s Lawyers Convinced ‘Important Evidence’ Will Clear UEFA President

A memo published in a French newspaper on Sunday could pave the way for UEFA president Michel Platini to stand for the FIFA presidential election in February, according to his lawyers.

His lawyers believe the memo has evidence that will clear the Frenchman of any wrongdoing following his 90-day suspension for a ‘disloyal payment’ he received from Sepp Blatter for work carried out several years ago.

The memo was published in French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche and it says the memo, dating back to 1998, includes a payment agreement between Platini and Fifa. 

Platini’s lawyer Thomas Clay called the 23-page document “important evidence”.

Clay, speaking to the Reuters news agency, added: “From the moment that we have proof of an agreement between Fifa and Mr Platini, and of knowledge of this agreement by officials of Uefa, then this inquiry falls down.

“For us, it’s very important evidence that Mr Platini has always been telling the truth.”

Both Platini and Blatter were handed 90-day suspensions by the FIFA Ethics Committee and had appeals rejected. 

According to Le Journal du Dimanche, the memo was presented at a meeting of Uefa’s executive committee in November 1998 and included a section that stated Platini was being paid 1m Swiss francs a year for work he was doing for Fifa.

“It shows that the contract did not have any sort of secret character and that many people, including those in Uefa and Fifa, have known about it since 1998,” added Clay.

The FIFA presidential election takes place on 26 February and Platini must be cleared before that date in order to stand. 

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