Paris - The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) today ruled to reduce the sanction, from six to four years, against the suspended president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Frenchman Michel Platini.

On April 29th, CAS studied Platini's appeal against his sentence. Platini presided over the UEFA from 2007, until the International Football Federation (FIFA) overturned his mandate at the end of 2015, giving him an original sanction of eight years.

The measure, which banned him from any association with football, was reduced to six years after a first appeal in February.

The suspension from his post was due to his breach of the Code of Ethics. In 2011 Platini was said to have accepted a payment of two million Swiss francs (1.8 million euros) from the FIFA for work he had carried out years earlier. The oral contract had been made in 1999 with Joseph Blatter, former leader of the Federation, who was also sanctioned.

The Court announced in a statement today, that the new reduction, from six to four years, was an acknowledgment of the validity of the oral contract linking FIFA and Platini, however the court was 'not convinced of the legitimacy' of the 1.8 million euros payment to the Frenchman in 2011, for consulting work for Blatter.

The court also reduced the fine it had imposed from 80,000 to 60,000 Swiss francs (72,000-54,000 euros).

After the verdict, Platini said he would step down from his post as president of UEFA 'to continue the fight in the Swiss courts'.