Platini said he would donate
the value of the watch to charity
Uefa president Michel Platini
insists he will not return a £16,000 watch given to him by the Brazilian
Football Confederation (CBF).
Fifa has asked officials to
return the watches handed out at the World Cup as football's governing body
claims the gifts break its code of ethics. (external)
But Platini, 59, said:
"I'm a well-educated person. I don't return gifts."
Platini also said Fifa knew
the items were being handed out in June and questioned why it only acted now.
The watches were given by one
of the CBF's sponsors to 32 association chiefs, 28 Fifa executive committee
members and five other members of South American associations.
Analysis from BBC Sport's
Richard Conway
Greg Dyke joked he needs to
take a spare bag with him when he goes away on business with The FA, given the
amount of freebies he's handed.
Uefa president Michel Platini
says everyone receives watches. Even journalists.
I can't say that I have ever
been offered one, Michel... But the culture of gift-giving runs deep among
football's power-brokers.
I remember interviewing the
former Fifa vice-president Mohamed Bin Hammam, now banned for life, in 2011 and
his explanation that the Cartier timepiece on his wrist had been a gift from
someone within the game.
He refused to accept it could
taint his judgment or influence how he acted toward that person or his
organisation.
Such largesse was thought to
be a thing of the past.
Fifa revised its ethics code
in 2011 to outlaw gifts that aren't of 'trivial' value.
And yet still it persists,
with the Brazil FA's goodie bags, placed in Sao Paulo hotel rooms before the
World Cup, leaving administrators red-faced.
Now the most fascinating
question from this whole affair is how many of the 65 watches dished out will
be returned, as requested, to Fifa.
"If the [Fifa] ethics
committee was not pleased, they should've told us that four months ago in
Brazil, when we received the watches," Platini said.
"They were aware that we
were receiving these watches because everybody received them.
"Let me tell you, I was
surprised. I was surprised, first of all, by knowing the value of the watch. I
didn't realise it was that expensive.
"We receive many
watches, just like journalists - you receive many watches. Just like the
associations receive watches. Yes, yes, you receive watches occasionally. Every
now and again, you do receive watches.
"But these are
advertising watches and so forth. We all receive watches. I've received several.
"But I was surprised on
the one hand to see the value of the watch.
"Secondly, I was very
surprised by the press release of Fifa. I think that the best thing would have
been to call us, to say that the ethics committee has done 'so and so' and they're
not pleased.
"Because there's an
article in the British press, all of a sudden Fifa says that they need to
return the watches. There's something that's very surprising to me in the way
that this process has played out and I do not like that."
Several officials did report
the watches to the ethics committee and Football Association chairman Greg Dyke
and Fifa vice-president Jim Boyce have since said they will return the gifts.
Dyke, who had put the watch
in a bag earmarked for charity, said he was unaware of the value of the gift
and would have liked Fifa to have stepped in and taken action in Brazil.
The 67-year-old said:
"Fifa should have looked and said: 'These are £16,000 watches - you can't
give them out.'
"I mean, how would I
know it's worth £16,000? I have never had a £16,000 watch in my life. I've
never paid more than £200 for a watch - to me, it is just a watch.
"I think the whole
culture of gift giving needs to be looked at again. Personally, I would get rid
of it."
Dyke says the watch is still
in its original packaging
Frenchman Platini added:
"This watch is a gift. It's not actually the watch I'm wearing today. It's
a gift I received.
"I'm going to ask for
the value of this watch and I'm going to give to a charitable organisation, a
foundation, this value. But I can't return a gift. In my upbringing, I cannot
return gifts like that."
The CBF said it had paid
$8,750 (£5,336) for each watch but Fifa's ethics committee obtained an
independent valuation of 25,000 Swiss francs (£16,400).
The ethics committee said in
a statement: "The CBF should not have offered the watches, and those who
received gift bags should have promptly checked whether the items inside were
appropriate and, upon discovering the watch, either returned it or reported the
matter.
"The Fifa code of ethics
plainly prohibits such gifts. Officials may not offer or accept gifts that have
more than 'symbolic or trivial value'."
Fifa refused to clarify
whether president Sepp Blatter received a watch and if so, if he had returned
it.
A statement said: "The
deadline to return the watches by any person who received one is no later than
24 October 2014 as stipulated by the investigatory chamber. Please understand
that we cannot communicate about individuals."
The ethics committee said it
would not instigate proceedings against officials who return the watches by 24
October.
Meanwhile, Fifa has revealed
it spent around £87,000 purchasing 750 watches which were given to delegates of
the national associations who travelled to Sao Paulo for its annual congress in
June.
Fifa say the value of these
watches - around £117 - is within the provisions of its code of ethics.
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