Blatter, Platini acquitted again by Swiss court in corruption case

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
25 Mar 2025 16:08

Blatter, 89, and Platini, 69, faced charges related to a delayed payment of two million Swiss francs (€1.8 million) that FIFA made to Platini in 2011 for consultancy services.

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This combination of pictures created on March 25, 2025, shows (L) former UEFA president Michel Platini and (R) former FIFA president Sepp Blatter (AFP)

Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and former UEFA chief Michel Platini were acquitted once again on appeal by a Swiss court on Tuesday in a long-running corruption case.

As in their initial acquittal in 2022, the extraordinary appeals court in Muttenz, near Basel, rejected prosecutors' request for suspended 20-month sentences.

Following nearly a decade of legal proceedings, a final appeal remains possible before the Swiss Federal Court, though only on limited legal grounds.

Blatter, 89, and Platini, 69, faced charges related to a delayed payment of two million Swiss francs (€1.8 million) that FIFA made to Platini in 2011 for consultancy services.

The case, which began in 2015 amid a broader corruption crisis at FIFA, derailed the careers of both Blatter and Platini, once among the most influential figures in world football.

"After two acquittals, the federal prosecutor's office must also admit that this criminal procedure has definitively failed. Michel Platini must finally be left alone in criminal matters," said Platini’s lawyer, Dominic Nellen.

Blatter and Platini were first acquitted in June 2022 by the Swiss Federal Court of charges including "disloyal management", "breach of trust," and "forgery of securities." However, the Swiss Attorney General’s office swiftly appealed the ruling.

Both the defense and prosecution agreed that Platini advised Blatter between 1998 and 2002 during Blatter’s first term as FIFA president. In 1999, the two signed a contract stipulating an annual salary of 300,000 Swiss francs to be "paid in full by FIFA."

Blatter and Platini claimed they had initially agreed—without witnesses—that Platini would receive an annual salary of one million Swiss francs, but FIFA’s financial constraints prevented immediate full payment.

In January 2011, more than eight years after his advisory role had ended, Platini requested a payment of two million Swiss francs, which FIFA then disbursed. At the time, Blatter was seeking re-election as FIFA president, while Platini had risen to the helm of European football.

Prosecutors argued that the payment was "unfounded" and fraudulently secured by "cleverly misleading" FIFA’s internal controls through false statements made by both executives.