UEFA president Michel Platini will not attend his FIFA Ethics Committee hearing on Friday in protest because he believes his case has been pre-judged.
Platini's lawyers said in a statement on Wednesday that the verdict "was already announced in the press by a [FIFA Ethics Committee] spokesperson [Andreas Bantel] ... without regard for the presumption of innocence."
Though FIFA investigators have asked for a life ban to be imposed, the UEFA chief could reportedly escape with a suspension of several years that would still effectively exile him and end his FIFA presidential ambitions.