Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and renowned French football player Michel Platini have been exonerated of corruption charges stemming from claims of deception at the international football organization.
On Tuesday, an appeals court in Muttenz, Switzerland, which is close to Basel, exonerated the two of improper behavior regarding Blatter’s 2011 payment of Platini 2 million Swiss francs (£1.6 million). Neither man has ever admitted to any wrongdoing.
Although the two were initially found not guilty of fraud offenses in 2022, Swiss federal prosecutors appealed the decision.
This case has been ongoing since 2015, when Fifa was embroiled in accusations of corruption and fraud, which led to a dramatic raid in Zurich as a result of a separate US investigation.
The largest scandal in football history involved money laundering, fraud, bribery, and racketeering, as well as collusion between sports marketing executives and governing body officials.
Blatter was forced to step down as a result, and Platini’s chances of taking over as FIFA’s leader were dashed.
Swiss prosecutors then charged Blatter, who is now 89, and Platini, who is 69, with fraud and forgery for allegedly misleading Fifa about the payment to Platini. Theyclaimedthattherewas”nolegalbasis”forthepayment.
Both men contended that the transfer was a late payment for Platini’s advisory work for Fifa. Platini was the former president of the European Football Association, or Uefa.
Blatter stated in his first trial testimony that in 1998, he had asked Platini to serve as his adviser. He went on to say that Platini’s annual fee of one million Swiss francs was beyond Fifa’s means at the time.
Instead, they decided to pay 300,000 francs a year, with the remaining amount to be paid later.
The two were cleared by the Bellinzona federal criminal court in Switzerland, which acknowledged that they had a “gentlemen’s agreement” regarding the payment. The new hearing resulted from an appeal of the ruling by federal prosecutors.
After the verdict, Michel Platini, the former president of Uefa, declared that his “honor has returned.”
Blatter said in a statement to reporters after Tuesday’s decision: “At last, justice has been served, and for me, my family, and my friends. This is a significant event.
According to him, “I’m full of emotion right now.”
His “persecution” is “now totally over,” Platini told reporters, adding, “Today, my honor has returned and I am very happy.”
According to Platini’s attorney, legal action is currently being planned against the individuals in charge of the criminal proceedings.
In a statement, Dominic Nellen said, “It has been more than a decade since the Office of the Attorney General was able to locate any incriminating evidence.” “These proceedings should never have been carried out and were not justified.”
Platini is a three-time winner of Europe’s top individual football award, the Ballon d’Or, and had a distinguished playing career.
In 1984, he led France to victory at the European Championship, and with Juventus, he won the European Cup in 1985. He later became the coach of the French national team and was the president of Uefa from 2007 to 2015.
Blatter, a former Swiss businessman and sports administrator, began working for FIFA in 1975 and progressed through the organization’s ranks to become its president in 1998 and general secretary in 1981.