Michel Platini to boycott FIFA hearing

 

 A statement from the legal representatives of the suspended UEFA president said he chose to boycott the hearing after 'the verdict was already announced to the press by a spokesman, going against the presumption of innocence'.                                
   
Platini and FIFA president Sepp Blatter are currently serving 90-day bans from all footballing activities after Swiss prosecutors opened a criminal investigation looking partly into a two million Swiss franc (1.8 million euro; USD two million) payment Blatter authorized to Platini in 2011, reportedly for work done a decade earlier.                                                   
   
The provisional ban is due to expire on January 5 but both men risk being banned for life by the tribunal, with a verdict expected on Monday.                
   
According to Platini's lawyers who will attend the hearing, prosecutors are seeking a lifetime ban against the Frenchman. The penalty sought against Blatter is not known.