Michel Platini wants to push through Fifa reforms

Michel Platini has called a summit meeting of the eight European FIFA members immediately before tomorrow's executive committee in a bid to ensure that significant reforms of the world governing body are pushed through.

Platini, the UEFA president, and the other seven members will meet in Zurich to devise their strategy for the landmark meeting, where FIFA president Sepp Blatter is set to unveil his proposals for change.

Europe is seen as a driving force for reform - German member Theo Zwanziger will bring his own ideas for change to the table, and these will be discussed by the Europeans, including Britain's FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce, before the executive committee (ExCo) meets tomorrow afternoon and Friday.

Blatter's proposals are understood to include a new-look ethics committee with more powers to investigate alleged wrongdoing, with FIFA members having to prove they have no skeletons in the closet before they are permitted to sit on the executive committee.

Blatter has already announced some other plans, including having all 206 FIFA countries voting on future World Cup hosts rather than the 25-man ExCo.

Boyce, from Northern Ireland, said the Europeans were all determined that FIFA recovers from the damage to its reputation following the corruption scandals of the last 12 months.

Two FIFA members were banned last year following investigations by the Sunday Times, and this year former presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam was banned for life for bribery, with FIFA vice-president Jack Warner resigning a month after being charged with the same offence.

Boyce, who took over from England's Geoff Thompson in June, told Press Association Sport: "It is the first FIFA executive committee that I will be attending and I am very much looking forward to hearing of the measures that the president will announce, some of which he has already started putting in place, to make sure that FIFA restores its reputation throughout the world after the adverse publicity of the last 12 months.

"I believe that everyone in Europe at least will be singing from the same hymn sheet. The European FIFA members I have spoken to, and the UEFA executive committee members, are all of the same view as me that we want to ensure that FIFA moves forward in the right way."

There have been reports that Blatter may propose to end FIFA's legal action to block the release of documents from a court case in the Swiss canton of Zug concerning payments made by FIFA's collapsed marketing partner ISL.

According to BBC Panorama, Brazil's FIFA member and 2014 World Cup chief Ricardo Teixeira and former FIFA president Joao Havelange both received payments from ISL. Paraguay's FIFA member Nicolas Leoz was named in court as having received 130,000 US dollars from the company.

FIFA officials have said however they are unaware whether such a proposal will be made by Blatter.

Meanwhile, Platini is also expected to raise the issue of Sion's legal action against UEFA and him personally and ask for more support from FIFA.

Swiss club Sion have continued to challenge their expulsion from the Europa League for fielding ineligible players during the play-off stages, and have taken their case to the civil courts.

PA