PARIS: The banned ex-UEFA chief Michel Platini was arrested Tuesday in connection with a criminal investigation into the award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. The French football legend elected to lead European football’s governing body in 2007 was taken into custody by French anti-corruption police investigating the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to the gas-rich Gulf state. The French investigation centres on alleged French intervention linked to Platini and former president Nicolas Sarkozy. “It was time to give them the World Cup. Platini, a triple Ballon d’Or winner, was expected to succeed Blatter as FIFA president in 2016 before his fall from grace.

Source: Pakistan Today June 18, 2019 11:03 UTC