Soccer

‘We support Michel Platini’s right to a due process and a fair trial’

Uefa call of February’s Fifa presidential election to go ahead as planned

Uefa General Secretary Gianni Infantino gives a press conference following a Uefa Executive meeting at the European football’s governing body headquarters in Nyon. Photograph: Getty Images
Uefa General Secretary Gianni Infantino gives a press conference following a Uefa Executive meeting at the European football’s governing body headquarters in Nyon. Photograph: Getty Images
Thu Oct 15 2015 - 18:07

Uefa's member associations have called for a "rapid decision" on the Fifa ethics case involving its suspended president Michel Platini.

In a statement following a meeting in Nyon, Uefa issued a statement saying the case and the whole appeals process should be completed by mid-November.

The statement said: “We support Michel Platini’s right to a due process and a fair trial and to the opportunity to clear his name.

“We strongly call on all instances involved in the current process: Fifa’s ethics committee, Fifa’s appeal committee and ultimately the Court of Arbitration for Sport to work very rapidly to ensure that there is a final decision on the merits of the case by, at the latest, mid-November 2015.”

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Uefa's general secretary Gianni Infantino told a news conference in Nyon that it was agreed that the Fifa presidential election on February 26th "cannot and should not be delayed".

He added on Platini: “We need to have a final decision. The rest is speculation, and condemnation without due process and it is a bit unfair.”

Infantino also criticised the “leaks” that had come out about the case.

He added: “What’s really disappointing is all the leaks coming out. It’s not fair that you [the media] know before the person who is accused or suspended. It’s not what we call fair process or trial, it just pushes a condemnation without a decision and this is not correct.”