UEFA President, Michel Platini, will resign as head of European football governing body after failing to have a six-year ban from football overturned at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday.
Platini was suspended after his £1.25m uncontracted extra salary payment dealings with former FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, dragged him into the scandal which engulfed FIFA.
CAS upheld Platini’s suspension, but the term was reduced from six years to four.
An official statement from CAS reads: “The CAS Panel was of the opinion that a severe sanction could be justified in view of the superior functions carried out by Mr. Platini (FIFA Vice-President and UEFA President), the absence of any repentance and the impact that this matter has had on FIFA’s reputation.”
The ruling means that European football governing body UEFA, which is yet to replace Platini since he was initially banned in October, will have to elect a new president.
The Frenchman pledged to continue his campaign to overturn his ban with an appeal to the Swiss federal court.
“I see this as a profound injustice… As agreed with the national associations I am resigning from my functions as President of UEFA in order to pursue my fight with the Swiss courts to prove my integrity in this affair,” Platini said.
UEFA’s next executive committee meeting will hold in Basel on May 18, where they will look at when to hold a new presidential election to choose a new president. A position nobody has publicly stated that they intend to stand for.
“In the meantime, there will be no UEFA president appointed ad interim,” the association said.
