Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PARIS (AP) — Michel Platini is giving up his bid to become the next FIFA president.
Platini told The Associated Press on Thursday that he remains determined to overturn the eight-year ban he was handed by FIFA's ethics committee last month, but that the deadline for the Feb. 26 election is too short and renders his candidacy impossible.
Platini's bid to succeed Sepp Blatter and take football's top job had been put on hold because of a payment he received from his former mentor back in 2011.
Blatter and Platini were banned for eight years last month for conflict of interest in a 2 million Swiss franc (£1.35 million) payment deal that is also the subject of a criminal investigation in Switzerland.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
