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UEFA not calling elections during Michel Platini ban

Michel Platini's FIFA ban from all footballing activities will not prompt UEFA to hold elections to find a successor to his presidency.

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UEFA will not schedule presidential elections until Michel Platini completes the appeals process against his FIFA-imposed suspension from all footballing activities.

Platini and his FIFA counterpart Sepp Blatter were each handed eight-year bans in December following an investigation by FIFA's Independent Ethics Committee into an payment of two million Swiss francs (£1.3m) made by FIFA, and authorised by Blatter, to the former France captain in February 2011.

The Investigatory Chamber of the Ethics Committee is seeking to increase the punishment, meaning Blatter and Platini - who both each deny any wrongdoing - could be landed with life bans from football.

French newspaper L'Equipe reported this week that UEFA would seek to hold an election in May to replace Platini, who took up his post in January 2007.

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But in a statement released on Friday, UEFA confirmed that it would not hold any ballot until Platini had carried his appeal to the relevant bodies.

The statement read: "At its inaugural meeting of 2016 at the House of European Football in Nyon, the UEFA Executive Committee decided there will be no UEFA presidential election scheduled until the sports justice appeal bodies, including potentially the Court of Arbitration for Sport, have taken a decision regarding Michel Platini's suspension."

UEFA added that it hopes Platini is successful in his appeal, on the same day it endorsed Gianni Infantino as its chosen candidate for February's FIFA presidential election.

Platini was tipped as favourite to succeed the long-serving Blatter at the head of football's world governing body but the suspension forced him to officially withdraw his candidacy earlier this month.

UEFA's statement added: "The UEFA Executive Committee and UEFA's national associations would like to state that we have taken note of the decision of the FIFA Ethics Committee to suspend the UEFA President, Michel Platini.

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"We hope his name is cleared and that he can return to the European football family as quickly as possible."

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