Ex-UEFA chief Michel Platini arrested in 2022 World Cup probe

Ex-UEFA chief Michel Platini has been arrested in connection with a probe into the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, on Tuesday.

Reportedly, the 63-year-old former French football star was questioned and detained by the Ministry of Justice amid an investigation into the awarding of the hosting rights of the tournament.

According to the statement from the Ministry of Justice, given to Omnisport, said: “Platini was taken in for questioning on Tuesday by officers of the Anti-Corruption Office of the Judicial Police. Following questioning, he was detained.”

An investigation is underway regarding the controversial decision to allow Qatar to host the tournament, despite the Western Asian country’s human rights record and logistical problems posed by the nation’s laws, has led to the former France star being detained by French prosecutors.

As being reported by French Newspaper Le Monde, the arrest is in relation to a meeting Platini admitted attending with former France president Nicolas Sarkozy and then Qatari crown prince, now Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani just days before the vote to decide which country would host the 2022 edition of the tournament.

In 2015, Platini was banned from football-related activity for four years  which has been reduced twice from an initial eight, due to a breach of FIFA’s code of ethics after it was found he received a “disloyal payment” from the governing body’s ex-president Sepp Blatter in 2011.

Qatar has been accused of buying votes in its bid to stage the World Cup and a subsequent report by US independent investigator Michael Garcia unearthed an array of suspect financial dealings, many linked to Sandro Rosell, the ex-Barcelona president who served as a consultant for Qatar.

Michel Platini, who is a triple Ballon d’Or winner, was expected to succeed Blatter as FIFA president in 2016 before his fall from grace. He has been trying hard to clear his name ever since.