UEFA chief Platini loses appeal against FIFA ban

European football chief Michel Platini has lost his appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport to lift the 90-day ban handed out by FIFA in October.

However, the court instructed football’s governing body to work quickly on Platini’s case and that the provisional ban could not be extended by a further 45 days in January.

The court, known as CAS, said its three-man panel of judges was unanimous in ruling against the FIFA presidential hopeful.

The 90-day ban “does not cause irreparable harm to Michel Platini at this point in time”, the court said in a statement.

The Frenchman is satisfied with the ruling not to extend the provisional suspension, Platini’s lawyer said.

“Michel Platini notes with satisfaction that CAS partially granted his request when it demanded that FIFA not extend his ban,” Thibaud d’Ales told the Reuters news agency.

“In substance, he is confident that his case is solid.”

Platini had hoped to be allowed to attend the 2016 European Championship draw in Paris on Saturday and resume campaigning before the FIFA presidential election on February 26.

First he has to pass an integrity check by FIFA to be declared an official candidate.

FIFA’s ethics investigators have called for the ex-Juventus star to be banned for life. His full case will be heard by the FIFA ethics committee in Zurich on Friday and a verdict is expected days later.

The case centres on FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s approval of $2m paid to Platini in 2011 as backdated salary.

Both deny wrongdoing, but acknowledge that there was only a verbal agreement, which they say is valid under Swiss law.

However, FIFA was not required to pay Platini when more than five years elapsed since the work was completed.

The timing of the payment, which was not disclosed to the FIFA and UEFA executive committees, also raised suspicion. Platini was paid in February 2011, three months before a FIFA presidential election which Blatter won.

Both men face sanctions for a range of potential FIFA code of ethics violations, including bribery, conflicts of interest and false accounting.