Ex-FIFA chief Blatter and soccer great Platini cleared in corruption case

Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and French football legend Michel Platini were cleared of corruption charges by a Swiss court on Tuesday, two-and-a-half years after their initial acquittal.

The Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in Muttenz, near Basel, ruled in favor of the pair, who had been accused of fraud. Swiss federal prosecutors had appealed their 2022 acquittal, but the court upheld the previous decision.

Platini’s lawyer, Dominic Nellen, criticized the prolonged legal battle, stating, “After two acquittals, even the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland must realize that these criminal proceedings have definitively failed. Michel Platini must finally be left in peace in criminal matters.”

The case stemmed from a payment of 2 million Swiss francs ($2.26 million) authorized by Blatter to Platini in 2011. The payment, described as a consultancy fee for work done between 1998 and 2002, was allegedly deferred due to FIFA’s financial constraints at the time.

The scandal, which surfaced in 2015 when Platini was UEFA president, derailed his ambitions of succeeding Blatter at FIFA. Blatter was also forced out of the organization amid the controversy.

“The criminal proceedings have had not only legal but also massive personal and professional consequences for Michel Platini — although no incriminating evidence was ever presented. Among other things, the criminal proceedings prevented his election as FIFA president in 2016,” Nellen added.

Credit: NBC News