Michel Platini released says he is at peace

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(19 Jun 2019) French police released former president of UEFA Michel Platini from custody early on Wednesday. • No charges were brought against the former number 10 of Les Bleus after almost 15 hours of questioning. • French police investigating whether corruption played a role in the stunning decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar took 1980s football superstar Platini into custody on Tuesday. • After leaving the police station William Bourdon, Platini's lawyer, said there was a lot of noise for nothing. • Also questioned on Tuesday were two one-time associates of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, adding a layer of political intrigue to the investigation of the hugely controversial decision to hold football's showcase tournament in a desert country so scorching hot in June and July that the matches will be played instead in November and December. • As head of European football's governing body UEFA, Platini was the continent's top representative on the FIFA committee that picked Qatar in 2010. • The closed-door, secret-ballot vote baffled many at the time, not least because the Persian Gulf nation has no football pedigree to speak of. • Platini, 63, was taken into custody after being summoned to a French police anti-corruption and financial crimes office outside Paris. • Qatar beat the long-favoured United States 14-8 when FIFA selected the host country for the 2022 World Cup. • Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who presided over the vote, has accused Platini of backing out of a secret gentleman's agreement to award the tournament to the United States after meeting with Sarkozy, France's president at the time. • Ahead of the FIFA vote, Sarkozy hosted a meeting in November 2010 that brought Platini together with Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, then the crown prince of Qatar and now its ruling emir. • Al-Thani also owns the French football club Paris Saint-Germain, and Sarkozy frequently attends its games. • Platini has long insisted that the meeting did not influence his vote for Qatar less than two weeks later. • Both Platini and Blatter were toppled from their positions at the top of football in 2015. • Platini was banned by FIFA for financial misconduct in connection with a payment of USD 2 million authorised by Blatter - a suspension set to expire in October. • • Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork • Twitter: / ap_archive • Facebook: / aparchives • Instagram: / apnews • • • You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...

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