Soccer

Michel Platini: ‘I will tell the truth... I swear’

Suspended Uefa boss faces Court of Arbitration for Sport to appeal 90-day Fifa ban

Michel Platini is surrounded by media after a hearing at the international Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, in Lausanne, Switzerland. Photograph: Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP
Michel Platini is surrounded by media after a hearing at the international Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, in Lausanne, Switzerland. Photograph: Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP
Tue Dec 08 2015 - 18:13

Michel Platini vowed to "tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth" on arriving at the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Tuesday to appeal his 90-day ban from Fifa.

The suspended Uefa boss hopes sport’s highest court will halt his ban by Friday, to allow the former France captain to return to his campaign for the Fifa presidency.

Platini faces a lengthy ban from Fifa's ethics committee over a 2million Swiss franc payment he received from the game's global governing body in 2011, that was signed off by president Sepp Blatter.

Platini insists the payment was the result of a verbal agreement made with Blatter — who is also facing ethics charges — 13 years earlier.

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“I will tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, I swear,” Platini, quoted by French newspaper Le Parisien, said outside the CAS building prior to his preliminary hearing.

The 60-year-old later added on leaving: “You know I don’t like injustices. I hope I’ve been heard well. My lawyers have been very good. Will I be at the Euro 2016 draw in Paris on Saturday? I’ll ask (the CAS judges).”

Platini and Blatter will both appear before the adjudicatory chamber of Fifa’s ethics committee between December 16th and 18th, with a decision announced before Christmas.