Internet Desk: Michel Platini will not be able to resume his reign as UEFA president despite the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reducing his six-year ban from football to four years on Monday.
Platini has confirmed he plans to resign his position as a result of the decision but issued a statement to media announcing that he will continue his battle to clear his name.
Platini and his FIFA president Sepp Blatter were given eight-year bans from all football-related activity by FIFA’s ethics committee last December.
Those sanctions were reduced to six years by a FIFA appeals panel in February but both men immediately took their cases to CAS.
With Platini desperate to continue as UEFA president, his case moved more quickly than Blatter’s, and CAS said in a statement on Monday that Platini’s suspension had been reduced to four years and his fine reduced from 80,000 Swiss francs (CHF) to 60,000 Swiss francs.
The cases centre on a payment of two million Swiss francs, worth $2m or £1.25m at the time, made by Blatter’s FIFA to Platini in 2011 for consultancy services provided from 1998 to 2002.