Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini
But with Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber currently looking at a "disloyal payment" of £1.3m by FIFA president Sepp Blatter made to Platini at the expense of FIFA, the game has been scrapped.
Blatter and Platini have denied any wrongdoing and said the payment was legitimate compensation for work Platini undertook for FIFA.
"In a joint decision it was agreed to postpone the UEFA-FIFA challenge 2015, which had been scheduled for Friday, 2 October, until further notice," said a FIFA
Troubled FIFA and
UEFA cancel annual
staff match
ZURICH
Troubled international football bodies FIFA and UEFA, both with leaders involved with a Swiss criminal investigation, have cancelled their annual staff match.
The friendly game had been scheduled to take place in Nyon, home to European governing body UEFA and its president Michel Platini.
"In a joint decision it was agreed to postpone the UEFA-FIFA challenge 2015, which had been scheduled for Friday, 2 October, until further notice," a FIFA spokesperson said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Swiss authorities said they were treating Platini as somewhere "between a witness and an accused person" in a probe that was widened last week to include FIFA President Sepp Blatter.
Attorney General Michael Lauber told reporters he did not rule out searching the Nyon headquarters of UEFA as part of the investigation.
Lauber's office has said Blatter is suspected of making a "disloyal payment" of 2 million Swiss francs (£1.3 million) to Platini in 2011 at the expense of FIFA.
Both men have denied any wrongdoing and said the payment was legitimate compensation for work Platini undertook for FIFA.
(Reporting by Simon Evans; editing by Andrew Roche)
UEFA vs FIFA annual friendly match called off amid football corruption crisis
- UEFA and FIFA meet every year for a friendly football match in Nyon
- The match would have seen Sepp Blatter play against Michel Platini
- In a 'joint decision', the match has now been postponed until further notice
- Blatter is currently under criminal investigation, while Platini is also being probed over a £1.35m payment from FIFA that entered his account in 2011
Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini will avoid coming face-to-face on Friday amid the football corruption scandal after a UEFA-FIFA match was called off.
Blatter, the FIFA president, would usually travel to Platini's UEFA headquarters in Nyon for the friendly game between the governing bodies.
'In a joint decision it was agreed to postpone the UEFA-FIFA challenge 2015, which had been scheduled for Friday October 2, until further notice,' FIFA said in a statement.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter arrives for work at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich on Tuesday morning
Michel Platini was set to play for UEFA in a friendly against FIFA on Friday, but it has been postponed
The game would have come a week after a criminal investigation was opened into Blatter, in part over a payment in 2011 to Platini.
Blatter is being investigated as a suspect, while Platini is being treated 'between a witness and an accused person,' according to Swiss attorney general Michael Lauber.
The rift between former close allies Blatter and Platini widened recently when UEFA complained to FIFA about a document being distributed that attempted to discredit its president, leading to the departure of one of Blatter's staff.
Platini is vying to replace Blatter in the emergency FIFA election in February. To stand in the election, Platini has to pass FIFA integrity checks after the Oct. 26 cut-off for the submission of candidacies.
Platini (right) is under investigation over a £1.35million payment he received from FIFA nine years late
Blatter (right) is also subject of a criminal investigation, and both parties have decided to postpone the match
Platini has faced scrutiny from some national associations in Europe over why he was paid £1.35m by FIFA in 2011 for work carried out up to 2002.
In his first detailed explanation, Platini said he only requested payment in 2011 because, when he took the job as a Blatter adviser in 1998, FIFA's 'financial situation' meant he could not be paid the 'totality' of his salary.
FIFA's accounts for 1999-2002 show a revenue surplus of 115 million Swiss francs (about $83 million in 2002) but a deficit of 134?million Swiss francs had been forecast.
In response to questions about the payment, UEFA said Wednesday: 'The president has been fully open and transparent with the authorities. He has not been accused of any wrongdoing.'
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