SOCCER-EURO 2016/PLATINI NEWS CONFERENCE UPDATE World Cup 2026 bidding delay "normal", Platini says

Record ID: 150827

  • Title: SOCCER-EURO 2016/PLATINI NEWS CONFERENCE UPDATE World Cup 2026 bidding delay "normal", Platini says
  • Date: 10th June 2015
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (JUNE 10, 2015) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** EXTERIOR OF BUILDING WHERE NEWS CONFERENCE WAS HELD VARIOUS OF UEFA PRESIDENT, MICHEL PLATINI, ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE EURO 2016 PRESIDENT, JACQUES LAMBERT, AND PLATINI SITTING ON STAGE DURING NEWS CONFERENCE VARIOUS OF NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY (SOUNDBITE) (French) UEFA PRESIDENT, MICHEL
  • Embargoed: 25th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVADE9S5LLKD79LVZUU2OJR0DC4A
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: UEFA boss Michel Platini welcomed FIFA's decision to suspend the bidding process for the 2026 World Cup on Wednesday (June 10) saying it was "normal" as the organisation looked to replace embattled former president Sepp Blatter.
    Platini, who himself has been touted as a possible successor to Blatter, was speaking at a media event to promote tickets going on sale for the Euro 2016 championship which will be hosted by France.
    "It (the delay) does not surprise me. It's normal. It's normal, a process has been put in place to have a vote as quickly as possible, in 2017, but at the moment FIFA has no leadership so it's normal that it's been postponed. It's good," he said.
    Platini, who has become a leading critic of FIFA, refused to comment further on the corruption saga which led to Blatter's resignation last week.
    "I've said one day I'll speak about it, you'll all be invited but that's for when I know something about it. Today, I know nothing, I don't know what's happening. I'm finding out just like you are. I have alerts set up on my telephone for "FIFA", so I don't know any more or less than you," he said.
    FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said during an event in Russia on Wednesday that it would be "nonsense" to start the bidding process for the tournament for the time being.
    Meanwhile, FIFA said its executive committee would hold an extraordinary meeting in July to discuss options for dates for the Congress which will elect Blatter's replacement.
    Exactly a year before the Euro 2016 championship begins at the Stade de France on June 10, 2016, Platini was in Paris to celebrate tickets going on sale, with the first being symbolically given to President Francois Hollande earlier in the day.
    Platini and Hollande also discussed the FIFA corruption scandal, the UEFA president told the news conference, although he declined to comment further.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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