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 Platini, the head of European soccer body UEFA, was handed an
eight-year ban from the game along with outgoing FIFA president Sepp
Blatter by the federation's independent Ethics Committee on Dec. 21.
Both have been engulfed by the worst corruption scandal in FIFA's
history as the sport faces criminal investigations in Switzerland
and the United States, where 41 soccer officials and sports entities
have been indicted on corruption-related charges.
Former French international Platini has insisted he has done nothing
wrong and was still hoping to win an appeal in time to have been
allowed back in time for the election on Feb. 26., but said he had
changed his mind.
"I withdraw my candidacy. I can no longer (go through with it). I
have neither the time, nor the means to go and see the voters, to
meet people, and to fight with others," he said in an interview
which L'Equipe published on its website.
"By withdrawing, I chose to fully focus on my defense on a case
where there's no talk of corruption, falsification anymore, in which
there's nothing left.
"It's a matter of schedule, but it's not just that. How do you win
an election when you're prevented from campaigning?"
Blatter and Platini were both banned over a payment of 2 million
Swiss francs ($2 million) made to the Frenchman by FIFA with
Blatter's approval in 2011 for work done a decade earlier.
The committee said the payment, made at a time when Blatter was
seeking re-election, lacked transparency and presented conflicts of
interest, though both men denied wrongdoing.
Platini had initially been seen as the favorite to replace Blatter
in the Feb. 26 election where each of 209 national football
associations who are members of FIFA hold one vote.
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"I had... about hundred of official letters of support from
federations and about 50 pledges, in two days," Platini said.
Five candidates, none of them clear favorites, will take part in the
election and a chance for the job of rebuilding the sport's
beleaguered governing body.
They are Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, Asian Football
Confederation President Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of
Bahrain, former FIFA official Jerome Champagne of France, UEFA
General Secretary Gianni Infantino of Switzerland and South Africa
businessman Tokyo Sexwale.
Infantino has been Platini's right-hand man at UEFA and announced
his candidacy after the Frenchman had been initially suspended in
October.
Champagne, although a compatriot of Platini, is known to be a
critic, has no connections with UEFA and says that FIFA's priority
must be to spread the game's riches more evenly around the world.
(Reporting by Toby Davis in London and Julien Pretot in Paris;
Writing by Brian Homewood in Zurich; Editing by Alison Williams and
Justin Palmer)
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