Michel Platini has filed a complaint against FIFA President Gianni Infantino — RFI
Former UEFA president and ex-soccer player Michel Platini has filed a complaint against FIFA President Gianni Infantino, accusing him of defamation. The conflict between the two officials has escalated amid long-standing disputes within soccer leadership; details of the complaint are not being disclosed at this time.
It is noted that Platini accused Infantino of defamation and abuse of influence. He also plans to file a civil lawsuit against FIFA to seek compensation for damages “caused by machinations aimed at preventing Platini’s election as FIFA president in 2015.” He noted that he would not allow those who caused him harm to evade responsibility.
Infantino was elected FIFA president at an extraordinary congress in February 2016. In this role, he succeeded Sepp Blatter, who resigned following numerous corruption scandals within the organization.
In late 2015, Platini was banned from soccer for eight years. The basis for the suspension was a transfer by Blatter of 2 million Swiss francs (about €1.7 million) from FIFA funds to Platini’s accounts in 2011.
Subsequently, FIFA’s Appeals Committee reduced Platini’s suspension to six years, and in May 2016, the Court of Arbitration for Sport partially upheld the Frenchman’s appeal, reducing his suspension to four years, according to RFI.
As a reminder, UEFA suspended Russia from international football back in 2022 following the start of the full-scale invasion, and since then, representatives of the aggressor country have not participated in European tournaments. As for Belarus, UEFA imposed only limited sanctions, which include a ban on matches against Ukraine’s national teams in any tournaments under its auspices, starting in 2022.
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has suspended athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in all international competitions.
