Ex UEFA president puzzled by £1.35million Sepp Blatter FIFA payment to Michel Platini

Lennart Johansson has questioned the timing of the massive payment, which was made without a contract

FORMER UEFA president Lennart Johansson has questioned the timing of a £1.35million payment signed off by Sepp Blatter to Michel Platini in February 2011, just four months before his re-election as FIFA president.

Johansson said the existence of the 2million Swiss franc payment was not declared by Blatter to FIFA's executive committee in 1999, when it was said to have been agreed, and nor was it declared to UEFA's executive committee when Platini received the money 12 years later.

The payment came about two weeks after Platini had met former Asian confederation president Mohamed Bin Hammam, who encouraged him to stand against Blatter.

Platini decided not to stand and two months after the payment, UEFA formally declared its support for Blatter against Bin Hammam.

 

Asked if he thought the payment was connected to the support for Blatter, Johansson said: “It must be. I mean that’s exactly what it points at.

"Why should he have money paid at that moment, at that time of the year and then not reporting it to the UEFA executive? He is the UEFA president.”

Blatter and Platini have strenuously denied any wrongdoing.