MIAMI – Banned UEFA president Michel Platini will continue to be paid “until further notice” despite being unable to carry out his duties, European soccer’s governing body said on Tuesday.
UEFA’s statement came after FIFA told Reuters on Monday that their banned president Sepp Blatter was still being paid and would continue to receive his salary until FIFA elect a new leader on February 26.
But CONCACAF’s former president Jeffrey Webb (below), who was arrested in May, has had his contract terminated and is not receiving any cash from the body, a spokesman for the governing body for the sport in North and Central America and the Caribbean said.
Platini and Blatter were suspended for 90 days by FIFA’s Ethics Committee on October 8 and then banned from all soccer activities by the same body last month.
The sanctions were over a $2 million payment FIFA made to Frenchman Platini with Blatter’s approval in 2011 for work which concluded nine years earlier.
FIFA Ethics Committee said the payment to Platini, made at a time when Blatter was seeking re-election, lacked transparency and presented conflicts of interest, though both men denied any wrongdoing and are appealing their bans.
“UEFA can confirm that Michel Platini is still receiving a salary from UEFA, and will continue to do so until further notice,” a spokesman for the Switzerland-based body said in an email.
Blatter’s salary has remained a secret and UEFA declined to comment on how much Platini received.
“Individual salaries are of a confidential nature and therefore are not disclosed. We will of course discuss all these matters as well as all other FIFA reforms in the UEFA Exco and with our associations in a future Congress with a view of adopting these proposals for us as well,” said the spokesman.
“However, we can of course not make these figures public without following a proper and due process. This is also part of compliance and good governance,” he added. Blatter’s payments are tied to his mandate as FIFA president which does not run out until he is replaced by a new elected president but a spokesman for the body’s compensation sub-committee said they had stopped payment of his bonuses.
CONCACAF’s Webb, who also served as FIFA’s former vice president, was arrested in May in Switzerland along with six other soccer officials. The arrests were part of a wider U.S. probe of bribery and kick-back-related offences that has rocked the sport’s world governing body. Webb has pleaded not guilty to a variety of corruption charges, mainly related to kickbacks on deals with sports marketing companies, and is under house arrest at his home in Loganville, Georgia.
A CONCACAF spokesman said Webb’s employment had been “terminated” shortly after his arrest and that they were not paying him any salary or other form of payment.
FIFA is facing the worst corruption crisis in its history as a total of 41 individuals and entities, including many former FIFA officials, have been charged with corruption-related offences in the United States. The U.S. investigation is far from over and FIFA also faces a parallel Swiss probe. (Reuters)
