By Andrew Warshaw
May 10 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has expressed his sadness at Michel Platini failing to overturn his ban for breaching FIFA’s ethics code – hardly surprising given the process by which Infantino landed the top job in world football instead of his former boss.
Platini saw the FIFA presidency as his destiny but was knocked out of February’s election because of the ban, reduced from six to four years on Monday but not sufficiently cut to prevent him resigning as UEFA president.
With Platini out of the picture, Infantino, who was UEFA general secretary under the Frenchman, became Europe’s candidate to succeed Sepp Blatter – and promptly won.
Infantino received news of the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) ruling while in Mexico City preparing for his first congress as FIFA president.
“Obviously as FIFA president I need to respect the decision of the CAS – there is no doubt about that,” Infantino said. “On a personal level, of course, I am very sad about the decision. I have worked with Michel for the last nine years in UEFA, seven as general secretary… All together we did some great things.
“And I really want to keep these positive memories, at this moment focus on the positive memories.”
The main focus of FIFA’s annual Congress, which begins in Mexico City on Friday, will be bringing its 209 member football associations up to speed with the reform package put in place primarily as a result of the ongoing corruption investigations.
“After going through some uneasy times, I truly believe that the organisation is on the verge of an exciting new era and that we can unite to work towards our common goal of developing football across the globe and at all levels,” Infantino said in a statement released by FIFA.
Reforms adopted include a maximum term limit of 12 years for senior officials and the replacement of FIFA’s executive committee with a new 37-member FIFA Council which will have a purely strategic role.
Intriguingly FIFA has not yet appointed a chief executive to serve as Infantino’s number two, a situation he is committed to address but which may not be resolved for several more weeks.
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