Sepp Blatter, the former FIFA boss, and Michel Platini, the ex-UEFA chief, are found not guilty once again on appeal, in a legal case that started back in 2015.
Sepp Blatter, the former President of FIFA, and Michel Platini, a legend in French football, were both exonerated of corruption charges by a Swiss appeals court, two and a half years after their initial acquittal.
The two individuals, who once held significant power in international football, were cleared of fraud charges on Tuesday at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court, situated in Muttenz near Basel.
This hearing was arranged following Swiss federal prosecutors’ appeal against the initial 2022 acquittal of the two men in a lower court, in which Blatter and Platini had denied any wrongdoing.
According to Platini’s lawyer, Dominic Nellen, “After two acquittals, even the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland must recognize that these legal proceedings have definitively failed. Michel Platini must finally be conclusively exonerated in criminal matters.”
The case centers around a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.26m) payment that Blatter authorized for Platini in 2011.
This payment was allegedly a consultancy fee for work done by Platini from 1998 to 2002, with the justification that the payment was deferred due to FIFA’s lack of funds to pay him in full immediately.
The scandal, which surfaced in 2015 when Platini was president of UEFA, the governing body of European football, ultimately dashed his prospects of succeeding Blatter, who was ousted from FIFA due to the controversy.
Nellen further stated, “The legal proceedings have not only had legal ramifications but also significant personal and professional consequences for Michel Platini – despite the lack of any incriminating evidence. Among other things, these proceedings prevented his candidacy for FIFA president in 2016.”
The two individuals, who once held significant power in international football, were cleared of fraud charges on Tuesday at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court, situated in Muttenz near Basel.
This hearing was arranged following Swiss federal prosecutors’ appeal against the initial 2022 acquittal of the two men in a lower court, in which Blatter and Platini had denied any wrongdoing.
According to Platini’s lawyer, Dominic Nellen, “After two acquittals, even the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland must recognize that these legal proceedings have definitively failed. Michel Platini must finally be conclusively exonerated in criminal matters.”
The case centers around a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.26m) payment that Blatter authorized for Platini in 2011.
This payment was allegedly a consultancy fee for work done by Platini from 1998 to 2002, with the justification that the payment was deferred due to FIFA’s lack of funds to pay him in full immediately.
The scandal, which surfaced in 2015 when Platini was president of UEFA, the governing body of European football, ultimately dashed his prospects of succeeding Blatter, who was ousted from FIFA due to the controversy.
Nellen further stated, “The legal proceedings have not only had legal ramifications but also significant personal and professional consequences for Michel Platini – despite the lack of any incriminating evidence. Among other things, these proceedings prevented his candidacy for FIFA president in 2016.”
