FIFA President Infantino to visit World Cup host Russia, Qatar

ZURICH — Newly elected FIFA President Gianni Infantino will visit the next two hosts of the World Cup, Russia and Qatar, next week, the global soccer body said Friday. "The FIFA President will begin his two-day stay in Russia on 19 April with a visit to Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, venue of the opening match and final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup," Zurich-based FIFA said in a statement. He leaves on April 20 for Doha, where he will meet senior board members of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy and officials of the Qatari government, it added. Swiss authorities are probing whether bribery played a role in awarding the hosting rights for the World Cup to Russia and Qatar. Both have denied wrongdoing. Platini's CAS appeal against FIFA ban on April 29 Michel Platini will appear before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on April 29 to mount an appeal against his six-year FIFA ban for ethics violations, multiple sources told AFP Friday. Platini, the suspended head of European football confederation UEFA, filed an appeal with the Lausanne-based tribunal on March 2, seeking to overturn his conviction by FIFA's ethics judges. Contacted by AFP the former Juventus star's entourage said Platini "is happy with the date and hopes for a decision before May 3, when UEFA holds its congress at Budapest". The Frenchman has been sanctioned over an infamous two million Swiss franc ($2 million) payment he received in 2011 from then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter. FIFA's ethics committee in December banned both men from all football activities for eight years. The suspensions were cut to six years in February. Both men insist they did nothing wrong and that the payment was part of a legitimate oral contract tied to consulting work that Platini did for FIFA between 1999 and 2002. Blatter, who has also filed a CAS appeal, was replaced as FIFA's president in February by Gianni Infantino. UEFA has said it will not replace Platini until all his appeals are exhausted, so if the former French star is successful at CAS he could reclaim his job in time to preside over the France-hosted Euro 2016 tournament, which opens on June 10. — Agencies