By Andrew Warshaw and Samindra Kunti
April 12 – As he awaits the verdict of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over his six-year ban from football, Michel Platini has been assured by the organisers that he can attend this summer’s European Championship finals in his homeland – even if the CAS judgement goes against him.
Platini’s ban by FIFA’s ethics committee means he cannot be present at the tournament in any official capacity. But it always seemed improbable, even if he failed to clear his name in time to resume the presidency of UEFA, that the Frenchman would miss what he describes as “my child”.
Now, Jacques Lambert, the organising committee chief, has made it clear Platini can go to whichever games he likes as a special guest.
“Michel and I have always worked together,” said Lambert. “Certainly, at the moment, he is prevented from undertaking his official duties but that hasn’t stopped him taking a daily interest in our preparations for the tournament.”
Quite what “daily interest” means is open to interpretation since in theory, Platini is not allowed to be involved while under suspension. But Lambert says he will be welcomed at the tournament if the CAS, whose ruling should be any time now, upholds his six-year ban over that so-called “disloyal payment” received from FIFA in 2011 for work carried out a decade earlier.
“Very possibly Michel will be back as UEFA president by then and will be able to exercise his functions as president. If that is not the case then there is a standing invitation to him from the French football federation and myself for him to attend,” said Lambert.
Platini, whose original eight-year ban was reduced to six by FIFA’s appeals committee, recently described being prevented from attending the Euros as a ‘huge injustice’ after being heavily involved in its preparation.
“The Euro 2016 is my child, but I do not know if I will get there,” he told BeIN sports. “It is unimaginable that I would not be there from its beginning. This is outrageous and it is a huge injustice.”
Platini has long argued that his ban was part of a conspiracy to stop him running for FIFA president. “There were a lot of people who opposed the idea of my leadership at FIFA,” he said. “Why? Because I might have changed a lot in the organisation, things people might not have wanted to change. Those people made loyalties which is a shame, but that’s the way it is.”
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