A senior FIFA official called into question UEFA president Michel Platini’s bid for soccer’s top job on Tuesday, saying the failure to disclose a multimillion US dollar payment could be seen as a “falsification of accounts.”
FIFA reconfirmed they would vote for a new president on Feb. 26 next year to replace FIFA president Sepp Blatter and the FIFA executive committee confirmed Platini’s bid would not be considered as long as he is suspended.
However, Platini’s chances have nosedived as neither he nor Blatter can explain an irregular payment of 2 million Swiss francs (US$2 million) made in 2011 for advisory work Platini did for FIFA from 1998 to 2002.
Photo: AFP
FIFA Audit and Compliance Committee chairman Domenico Scala told the Financial Times that evidence for the consultancy agreement had not appeared in accounts before the payment, calling it a “serious omission” in an interview on Tuesday.
“Both parties were members of FIFA’s executive committee and knowingly approved each year financial statements, which were incorrect by 2 million Swiss francs. That could be seen as falsification of the accounts,” Scala was quoted as saying.
Scala had appeared to leave the door open for Platini earlier on Tuesday by saying that should his ban be lifted, or expire before the Feb. 26 election, FIFA’s ad-hoc electoral committee “would decide ... on how to proceed with the candidacy concerned.”
A source close to Platini said: “We have the feeling that the election committee has not killed Michel Platini.”
FIFA’s independent ethics committee was yesterday due to make an announcement on the cases of senior officials being investigated, without revealing any names.
Platini had been considered the favorite to replace Blatter, until his suspension.
Alongside Platini, former FIFA vice president Jordanian Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, who lost to Blatter in May’s election, has officially stated his candidacy.
Former Trinidad and Tobago captain David Nakhid, former Switzerland defender Ramon Vega and Asian Football Confederation president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa are also considering running. All candidates must submit their application by Monday.
Soccer’s governing body has been in chaos since Oct. 9, when the ethics committee suspended Blatter, FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke and Platini for 90 days.
The trio were banned from attending Tuesday’s FIFA gathering in Zurich, Switzerland, when acting FIFA president Issa Hayatou attempted to guide FIFA through the latest storm of scandals in Blatter’s absence.
“I was pleased to see unity among the executive committee members during our discussions of reform and its critical importance to our organization,” Hayatou said in a statement.
With Hayatou in charge, the executive committee welcomed preliminary reform proposals to set an age restriction of 74 years and a 12-year maximum tenure for the FIFA presidency.
That would block any repeat of someone matching Blatter’s reign in future, with the 79-year-old having been in charge since 1998.
A final proposal of the reforms is to be presented at the next meeting in Zurich on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3.
With Hayatou pledging a commitment to rebuilding FIFA’s battered reputation, the executive committee agreed to change the rules governing investigations.
That means more information could be published in future about the independent ethics committee’s proceedings.
“Increasing the transparency of ethics investigations is just one example of our firm commitment to change,” Hayatou said. “It was also significant that we set the course for the upcoming presidential election.”
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