Platini could boycott FIFA hearing, lawyer claims

Michel Platini could boycott his FIFA hearing, his lawyers have claimed ©Getty Images

Michel Platini could boycott a FIFA hearing where he is due to defend himself against charges of corruption, his lawyer has claimed.

The Frenchman, who still hopes to replace President Sepp Blatter at world football's governing body, is due to face FIFA judge Hans-Joachim Eckert along with the departing Swiss on Friday (December 18).

Both men deny wrongdoing after they were handed 90-day suspensions following an investigation into a payment Blatter made to Platini.

Sixty-year-old Platini, the President of UEFA, was left furious when quotes emerged from FIFA's Ethics Committee spokesman Andreas Bantel where he reportedly claimed that the former midfielder would be banned for "several years".

Platini's lawyers reacted to these comments with "anger and dismay" and said that they had "breached the presumption of innocence".

Now it is claimed that their client might not even show up at his hearing.

Both Platini and Blatter are set to face FIFA judge Hans-Joachim Eckert this week ©Getty Images

"The question of Michel Platini's presence, while not yet decided, has been raised," his lawyer Thibaud d'Ales told AFP, while also describing the FIFA investigation as a "masquerade".

"It is a political tribunal that condemns even before being judged and executes in public."

Platini has been told that his proposed candidacy to replace 79-year-old Blatter as President will be "reassessed" if any sanctions against him are lifted, with the election due for February 26 in Zurich.

He failed in a bid to have his 90-day ban from football overturned at the Court of Arbitration for Sport this week.

His suspension, which was handed out in October, was due to the payment he received from Blatter of CHF 2 million (£1.3 million/$2.1 million/€1.8 million) which was allegedly "disloyal" and not in the interests of FIFA.

The money was supposedly for work Platini carried out for FIFA between 1999 and 2002, but he was not paid until 2011 and the nine-year gap has led to questioning.

The Investigatory Chamber of the Ethics Committee has already requested sanctions following its deliberations, with the case now in the hands of Eckert's Adjudicatory Chamber which will deliver a final verdict.