Michel Platini said Thursday that he was ending his bid to become FIFA president, dropping out of a race that technically did not include him and one that he is officially barred from winning.
Mr. Platini's announcement and CAS's recent rejection of appeals by two other disqualified candidates mean the field of approved challengers bidding to replace Mr. Blatter remains at five .
They are: Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, who lost a challenge to Mr. Blatter at the FIFA congress last May; Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa of Bahrain, the powerful Asian Football Confederation president; the South African businessman Tokyo Sexwale; Jérôme Champagne, a former aide to Mr. Blatter; and the longtime European soccer official Gianni Infantino.