Nyon, Switzerland: All 54 European soccer nations are backing suspended UEFA President Michel Platini.

Austrian federation president Leo Windtner, speaking Thursday after attending an emergency meeting at UEFA headquarters, said the member nations agreed to stand by Platini, who last week was suspended for 90 days by the FIFA ethics committee.

“We got a unified position of UEFA,” Windtner said. “All nations give all support to Mr. Platini.”

Earlier, a statement from the Russian Sports Ministry said the UEFA executive committee expressed its “full support” for Platini.

Russian soccer union president Vitaly Mutko, who is also Russia’s sports minister and a member of the FIFA executive committee, attended the meetings.

“During the first meeting, which was chaired by UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino, all members of the UEFA executive committee expressed absolute trust and full support for UEFA president Michel Platini,” the ministry said in a statement.

UEFA also called for a rapid decision in the case and said the FIFA presidential election should go ahead in February as planned.

“We strongly call on all instances in the current process...to work very rapidly to ensure that there is a final decision on the merits of the case by, at the latest, mid-November 2015,” said UEFA in a statement.

“Michel Platini is a candidate for the FIFA presidency,” said Infantino. “The FIFA Congress which is scheduled to take place on February 26 has to take place then, it should not be delayed.

“If someone else comes up (as a candidate), if another European comes up, it’s too early to say. It was discussed and no decision was taken.”

Platini and FIFA President Sepp Blatter were suspended for 90 days last week by the FIFA ethics committee following an investigation into a 2011 payment to the former France captain. Both Blatter and Platini deny wrongdoing.

Pending the outcome of the FIFA investigation, the two soccer officials could be handed longer bans.

Platini received 2 million Swiss francs (Dh7.34 million) from FIFA in 2011 which, he says, was unpaid additional salary from his job as Blatter’s adviser between 1998 and 2002.

Platini has not produced a written contract to show the money was owed to him. Because of his ban from any role in soccer, Platini is not allowed to attend Thursday’s meeting.