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From now on, European football will be led by Aleksander Ceferin, president of the Slovenian Football Association. A. Ceferin ultimately competed in the elections against Michael van Praag, president of the Netherlands Football Association.
"My friends, thank you for the fantastic support. It means a lot to me. My small and beautiful Slovenia is proud of this. Hopefully, one day you will be able to be proud of me," Ceferin said in a short speech.
He received 42 votes, while the Dutchman got 13.
M. van Praag graciously accepted the defeat.
"Losing is not pleasant, but thank you for the open, fair, and beautiful campaign. I am very happy about the good and intense discussions with my colleagues. Aleksander has the same goals. We want a different UEFA. A better UEFA. He wants to do it his way, and I wanted to do it my way," M. van Praag said.
Platini received FIFA's grace when they allowed him to address the UEFA congress, although the former UEFA president was banned from any role in football for four years.
Platini faced serious sanctions for received payments that violated regulations.
Platini took advantage of the platform in Athens, where he loudly spoke about his achievements since he started leading UEFA in 2007. He even gave advice to the new organization leader.
UEFA delegates applauded the 61-year-old official, saying, "Football friends, good evening."
Shortly before that, he claimed that he had done nothing wrong when he received a 2 million Swiss franc payment from FIFA in 2011.
"Be sure - my conscience is clear. I am sure I made no mistakes, so I will continue the legal fight. I want to thank everyone here who had the courage, were loyal, and supported me in the past months," Platini said.
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