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German FA boss warns of prejudging Michel Platini

German FA boss warns of prejudging Michel Platini

German Football Association (DFB) president Wolfgang Niersbach has warned of prejudging UEFA boss Michel Platini before the details of an alleged improper payment from FIFA counterpart Sepp Blatter are known.

"In view of the current developments, a serious administration`s duty is to look carefully into what has happened to see if misconduct has actually taken place," Niersbach told the Frankfurter Rundschau.

Niersbach said it is important to "see what conclusions the authorities or FIFA`s Ethics Committee will come to" before jumping to any conclusions.

On Monday, Platini insisted that a two million Swiss franc ($2m) payment to him from Blatter in 2011 was "fully declared by me to the authorities, in accordance with Swiss law".

In a statement to UEFA member associations, Platini added that he had spoken with Swiss authorities as part of the investigation and had requested to be heard by the FIFA ethics committee.

Platini insists he received the money as a fee for an activity "between 1998 and 2002 as an employee of FIFA".

The Frenchman will challenge Blatter for FIFA`s presidency in next February`s elections and the DFB board voted in July to support Platini`s candidacy.

"The current activity leaves open a number of questions, and it would be in the best interests of Platini if they were answered as soon as possible," added Niersbach.