STRASBOURG: Former UEFA head Michel Platini has lost his appeal at the European Court of Human Rights against a four-year ban from football over a $2 million (1.8m euro) payment from then FIFA president Sepp Blatter in 2011.
A chamber of seven judges at the Strasbourg-based court ruled Thursday that Platini's "suspension from football-related professional activity was justified".
"The court found in particular that, having regard to the seriousness of the misconduct, the senior position held by Mr Platini in football's governing bodies and the need to restore the reputation of the sport and of FIFA, the sanction did not appear excessive or arbitrary," it said.
Platini's application, the court ruled, was "inadmissible".
FIFA banned Platini, its then vice president, in 2015 over the payment he received, sparking years of bitter recriminations from the now 64-year-old Frenchman and a falling out with his former ally Blatter.