French Platini arrested over corruption charges related to 2022 World Cup bid

PARIS -- Michel Platini, former UEFA president and one of France's legendary playmakers, was arrested on Tuesday as part of an inquiry into alleged corruption in the Qatar World Cup bidding process, local magazine reported.

Platini, 63, was placed into police custody at anti-corruption police station in Nanterres, near Paris to answer questions about his role in the vote which saw Qatar earn the rights to stage the 2022 World Cup, investigative magazine Mediapart reported.

The report added Claude Gueant, ex-interior minister and a close adviser to former French president Nicolas Sarkosy, has been questioned as a "free suspect."

Platini, Ballon d'Or winner three times in 1983, 1984 and 1985, had also been placed under formal investigation by FIFA's independent ethics committee in late September 2015 on the alleged use of bribery, fraud and money laundering.

For the 1988-1992 period, Platini managed the France national soccer team, and was the co-organizer of the 1998 World Cup at home.

In 2007, he was elected as the chief of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and became the first former player to become UEFA president.