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Platini rules out challenging Blatter

MONACO — European football chief Michel Platini will not challenge Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency, saying yesterday that there was “no shadow of doubt” about his decision.

UEFA president Michel Platini (left) has long been tipped to succeed Sepp Blatter, his mentor in football politics, but 
ruled out the possibility yesterday. 
Photo: Getty Images

UEFA president Michel Platini (left) has long been tipped to succeed Sepp Blatter, his mentor in football politics, but
ruled out the possibility yesterday.
Photo: Getty Images

MONACO — European football chief Michel Platini will not challenge Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency, saying yesterday that there was “no shadow of doubt” about his decision.

Blatter, who is 78 and has led FIFA since 1998, pledged to fight for a fifth term after previously promising UEFA he would step aside next year.

But Platini, who had said earlier this year that he was the only person capable of challenging the Swiss for football’s top job, will instead stand for re-election in March to lead UEFA for a third four-year term.

“I know some of you were expecting me to attack FIFA, but that is not my goal here,” said Platini after a closed-door meeting of UEFA officials in Monaco ahead of last night’s draw for the group stages of this season’s UEFA Champions League.

“Quite obviously, we want a FIFA that works better, (has) more transparency, more solidarity and (is) more respected by those that love football.”

UEFA members were meeting for the first time since they confronted Blatter in Brazil in June over his leadership and alleged corruption implicating FIFA. That hostile encounter in Sao Paulo on the eve of the World Cup suggested a bitter contest would follow for the FIFA leadership.

Platini, the UEFA president, ended that prospect yesterday.

“We went for peace. I think it is the logical decision,” Iceland football association president Geir Thorsteinsson told the Associated Press.

The UEFA president has long been favoured to succeed Blatter, his mentor in football politics.

But Platini, a former French international who captained his country to win the 1984 European Championships and is also a former European Cup winner and European Player of the Year, was expected to avoid a contest against Blatter after a successful World Cup strengthened the FIFA president’s position. AP

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