UEFA President Michel Platini arrives at a press conference, one day prior to the UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying draw in Nice, southeastern France. Michel Platini will not challenge Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency, saying Thursday Aug.28, 2014 (Photo: AP)
UEFA President Michel Platini has criticized FIFA for publicly rebuking football executives who accepted luxury gifts at the World Cup, saying he will donate around $27,000 to charity rather than return a watch.
A FIFA statement on Thursday warned officials they had until next month to return the Brazilian football federation watch or face ethics proceedings for accepting a gift that had more than a ''symbolic or trivial value.''
Platini says ''if the ethics committee was not pleased, they should've told us that four months ago in Brazil, when we received the watches. They were aware that we were receiving these watches because everybody received them.''
Platini, who is also a FIFA vice president, added: ''I don't return gifts.''
Instead he will pay 25,000 Swiss francs ($26,600) to charity.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
Short link: