Michel Platini failed to overturn his 90-day FIFA ban on Friday, with the ruling coming only minutes after Swiss federal prosecutors said they stepped up their criminal investigation into a $2 million payment he received from soccer's scandal-hit governing body.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said its three-man panel of judges was unanimous in ruling against the FIFA election hopeful's appeal, stating that the former France great would still be able to campaign for president after an expected FIFA ethics committee verdict. The 90-day ban "does not cause irreparable harm to Michel Platini at this point in time," the court said in a statement.
Even if the ban had been lifted, Platini was unlikely to have his candidacy — including an integrity check — validated by FIFA's election panel before the ethics verdict is due, the court said.
Because of Friday's ruling, Platini, the president of UEFA, remains barred from attending the European Championship draw in Paris on Saturday and cannot resume campaigning.
"Obviously, Michel Platini would have preferred get back to his duties," the Frenchman's lawyer, Thibaud d'Ales, told The Associated Press. "But he remains very confident that he will be cleared in the end. It's better to win on the merits of the case than on the provisional ban."
Platini's next legal date is on Friday when his case will be heard by the FIFA ethics committee in Zurich. A life ban has been requested by ethics prosecutors and a verdict is expected days later.