30 Jul 2015

Platini confirms he'll stand for Fifa's top job

6:08 am on 30 July 2015

European Football's president Michel Platini has ended weeks of uncertainty by confirming he'll stand for the presidency of FIFA in place of the outgoing Sepp Blatter.

The former French international, who has been UEFA president since 2007 and a FIFA executive committee member since 2002, says he wants to "give FIFA back the dignity and the position it deserves."

UEFA boss Michel Platini

UEFA boss Michel Platini Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Platini, who played in three World Cups for France and led them to the European championship title in 1984, said he had written to the 209 member associations of FIFA, who each hold one vote in the presidential election, to inform them of his decision.

Once seen as a protege of the outgoing president Sepp Blatter, Platini has recently become a leading critic of the 79-year-old Swiss.

In May he urged Blatter not to stand, saying the series of recent scandals involving FIFA turned his stomach.

However just hours after announcing he'll stand, Platini has been criticised by two potential Fifa presidential rivals.

UEFA president Michel Platini dismisses as fictitious allegations he was given a Picasso to vote for Russia.

UEFA president Michel Platini dismisses as fictitious allegations he was given a Picasso to vote for Russia. Photo: Photosport

The 60-year-old says Fifa needs to "turn over a new leaf" after being dogged by corruption allegations.

However, Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein and Musa Bility claim Platini would be a bad choice as a successor.

Prince Ali, who stood against Blatter in the last presidential election, said that "football's fans and players deserve better".

A member of the Jordanian royal family, he added that Fifa needed a "new, independent leadership, untainted by the practices of the past".

Bility, president of the Liberian Football Association, agreed, saying Platini would bring "chaos", "more division" and "more problems".

In an interview with the BBC, he added that the Frenchman "doesn't represent the change that we all want".

Platini, a former three-time Ballon d'Or winner, has a good chance of becoming Fifa president after receiving indications of support from four continental confederations.

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