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GENEVA -- Michel Platini plans to speak at the UEFA presidential election to replace him next week, despite his current FIFA ban from soccer politics.A spokesman for his Paris-based lawyers said Wednesday that Platini had been invited to the Sept. 14 meeting in Athens by UEFA, and wanted to address delegates as part of a handover of the final two and a half years of his presidential mandate.However, it is unclear if Platini is allowed to attend under the terms of his four-year ban for conflict of interest, over a $2 million payment he received in 2011 from FIFA.A spokesman for FIFAs judging chamber said: This would have to be decided by Mr (Hans-Joachim) Eckert as chairman of the adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee. However, so far, he has not yet received a respective request by UEFA.UEFA also invited its outgoing president to European Championship matches in June and July since his final appeal case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport failed to overturn the ban.Platini did not attend any Euro 2016 games in his native France despite FIFA ethics committee advice that he could go to stadiums but not discuss business with former colleagues.The election is a head-to-head between UEFA vice president Michael van Praag of the Netherlands and Slovenian soccer federation leader Aleksander Ceferin. Angel Maria Villar of Spain withdrew from the race on Tuesday.England backed Van Praag on Wednesday, though it is a rare public endorsement for the 68-year-old former Ajax club president compared to public pledges for Ceferin among the 55 UEFA members.English Football Association vice chairman David Gill said Wednesday that Van Praag would be able to provide the strong and credible leadership European football requires at a crucial moment for the global game.Van Praag is the right choice to bring all aspects of the European game closer together, said Gill, who is also a UEFA vice president.France and Germany have backed Ceferin, who was little known before the campaign but has also attracted support in eastern Europe and Scandinavia.Polands federation -- led by Zbigniew Boniek, a former teammate of Platini at Juventus -- also came out for Ceferin on Wednesday.Tensions between the two candidates have risen ahead of attending meetings on Thursday with voters in Copenhagen.Responding to a Norwegian magazines investigation into Ceferins alleged alliance with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Van Praag wrote on Twitter that UEFA did not need a power hungry politician.Denmarks federation, which hosts the candidates on Thursday, had welcomed Ceferins candidacy in June in a joint letter with regional neighbors Sweden, Finland and Norway. The four nations are also preparing a co-hosting bid for the 2024 European Championship.Still, the Danish federation and national league made a joint statement Wednesday that they also want to discuss UEFAs recently agreed changes to the Champions League for the 2018-21 seasons.The deal guarantees more entries and tens of millions of dollars in prize money to clubs from the top four-ranked leagues -- currently Spain, Germany, England and Italy -- at the expense of mid-ranked countries like Denmark.The Danish soccer bodies said they shared great dissatisfaction with the process.The process was wrong, the result is wrong, Danish league CEO Claus Thomsen said. A fundamental change of the format has been rushed through UEFA and the ECA (European Club Association) even though a new UEFA President will be elected in a weeks time and even though there are no publicly elected leadership in UEFA.Van Praag and Ceferin both say they oppose Europes top clubs breaking away to form a Super League. However, Danish officials say they fear a de facto Super League created within UEFA in partnership with elite clubs.Influential clubs, including Juventus and Real Madrid, were seen to have exploited the absence of Platini, the UEFA president since 2007, to pressure the European soccer body this year for a more favorable deal.---AP Sports Writers Rob Harris in London and Samuel Petrequin in Paris contributed to this report Klay Thompson Jersey .S District Court against Major League Baseball, the Office of the Commissioner and his own union, the MLBPA. Woody Sauldsberry Jersey . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. https://www.cheapwarriors.com/1059o-wilt-chamberlain-jersey-warriors.html . Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds in his seventh straight game with more than 20 points, but that was only enough to keep the Pelicans competitive into the final minutes. Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Golden State, which rebounded from a loss a night earlier in Oklahoma City and snapped a two-game skid. Jordan Poole Jersey . After Martin Skrtel put the Reds in front from close range at Stamford Bridge after only four minutes, Hazard hit back in the 17th with a superb strike. Etoo gave Jose Mourinhos team a decisive lead from Oscars back pass in the 34th. Alen Smailagic Jersey . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is keeping his schedule clear for the first week of February.The confident 24 year old has a hunch that he might need to go on a business trip during that time.Were really looking forward to Feb. 5 in Houston, Beckham said to ESPN this week. Thats the goal, obviously. I feel real confident in this team. This defense is a Super Bowl defense. The offense, were working to get better each and every day.All of that could spell bad news for the Chicago Bears this weekend when the teams meet at MetLife Stadium.The Giants (6-3) have won four games in a row -- with each victory coming by single digits -- and are aiming for their first five-game winning streak since 2011. Under first-year coach Ben McAdoo, the team is 4-1 at home and already has matched its six-win total from a season ago.The outlook is not nearly as bright for the reeling Bears (2-7). Chicago has dropped four of its past five games and is 0-5 on the road this season as the team prepares to head east.To make matters worse, the Bears will not have two of their best players on offense. Pro Bowl guard Kyle Long was placed on injured reserve this week after being carted off the field with a right ankle injury against Tampa Bay, and Pro Bowl wide receiver Alshon Jeffery will serve the first game of a four-game suspension for violating the NFLs policy on performance-enhancing substances.Even at full strength, the Giants defense would have been a tough test for Chicago.The Giants have a top-10 rushing defense (92.1 yards allowed per game) and have held opponents to 20.4 points per game, which is No. 11 in the league.Second-year safety Landon Collins has emerged as the best player on a strong defensive unit. Collins has racked up four interceptions, three sacks and 74 tackles in his first nine games of the season.On paper, the Bears offense does not match up well against the Giants defense. Chicago has managed only 15.7 points per game, which is second-to-last in the NFL. Meanwhile, mercurial quarterback Jay Cutler is coming off his worst outing of the season as he threw two interceptions and fumbled twice against the Buccaneers.Rookie running back Jordan Howard dinged up an ankle in Week 10 but returned to practice this week.ddddddddddddIf Howard regresses, look for the tandem of Jeremy Langford and KaDeem Carey to carry the ball for the Bears.But who will catch Cutlers passes -- assuming they are on target?With Jeffery suspended and Kevin White on injured reserve, the top receiving option for the Bears is tight end Zach Miller (44 receptions, 425 yards, 3 TDs). Meanwhile, wide receivers Cam Meredith and Marquess Wilson likely will see more action on the outside.Meredith, 23, joined the team in 2015 as an undrafted free agent out of Illinois State. The 6-foot-3, 207-pound flanker has impressed head coach John Fox this season as he has caught 29 passes for 381 yards and two touchdowns.Hes got good length, Fox said. He has a good feel for pass coverage as far as getting on a (defensive backs) feet, the kind of things it takes to get open. Hes a young guy that continues to work very hard to improve, and hes getting rewarded for that with playing time.When the Giants have the ball, look for Beckham to stretch the field and try to create havoc against the Bears young secondary. Beckham leads New York with 54 catches for 773 yards and six touchdowns, including three scores in his past two games.Giants quarterback Eli Manning has benefited from Beckhams brilliance, but the 35 year old also has made some careless mistakes in recent weeks. He has thrown two interceptions in three of his last four games.In the backfield, Giants running back Rashad Jennings is averaging only 3.2 yards per carry. However, Jennings showed flashes last week as he rushed 15 times for 87 yards (5.8 yards per carry) in a win over Cincinnati.So could the Giants be a Super Bowl squad? Maybe, maybe not.But the coach does not mind his star players public confidence.Thats our goal, McAdoo said. Thats why we come to work every day. We want to make sure we get here and put our work in, put our time in.But we have a lot of work to do until we get to that point. Its good to have aspirations. ' ' '