Michel Platini Loses Latest Appeal of FIFA Ban

(ATR) Former UEFA president Michel Platini remains suspended from football until October 2019.

The latest appeal of his ban was rejected by a Swiss civil court in an announcement made on Thursday and reported by Le Parisien.

The first civil law chamber of the Federal Court of Lausanne upheld the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling from May of last year. At that time, CAS rejected Platini’s appeal but reduced his six-year ban to four years.

Platini quit UEFA after the CAS decision. FIFA had banned him over the "disloyal" $2 million payment agreed verbally with the disgraced former FIFA chief Sepp Blatter and executed in 2011.

CAS justified a severe sanction because of Platini’s standing in world football at the time – UEFA president, FIFA vice president – as well as "the absence of any repentance and the impact that this matter has had on FIFA’s reputation".

The three-time European Footballer of the Year was originally banned eight years by FIFA but that was later cut to six by a FIFA appeals committee before CAS reduced it further.

Platini has already served about half of his four year ban and Le Parisien is reporting that he has not yet decided whether to use his last appeal option and take his case before the European Court of Human Rights.

Written by Gerard Farek

For general comments or questions,click here.

25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.