UEFA will elect president to replace banned Platini in September

Michel Platini. (Michael Probst/AP)

BASEL, Switzerland — UEFA will elect a president in September to replace Michel Platini, who was banned by FIFA for accepting a $2 million payment approved by Sepp Blatter.

Several UEFA executive committee members, including Wolfgang Niersbach and Allan Hansen, say the 55 national federations will vote at a Sept. 13-14 meeting in Athens, Greece.

The new president will complete Platini’s term, which runs through March 2019, and become a FIFA vice-president.

Officials interested in seeking the job include UEFA vice-presidents Angel Maria Villar of Spain and Michael van Praag of the Netherlands, and Slovenian federation president Aleksander Ceferin.

UEFA has been without a president since Platini was suspended by the FIFA ethics committee in October. The Court of Arbitration for Sport imposed a reduced four-year ban on Platini this month.

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