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Dubai Eye
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Dubai Eye
Ex-FIFA chief Blatter and Platini cleared in corruption case
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and France football great Michel Platini were both cleared of corruption charges by a Swiss court on Tuesday, two and a half years after they were first acquitted of the offences. The pair, once among the most powerful figures in global football, were cleared of fraud at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in the town of Muttenz, near Basel. The hearing came about after Swiss federal prosecutors appealed against their 2022 acquittal at a lower court. Both men had denied the charge which related to a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.26 million) payment Blatter authorised for Platini in 2011. The court said there were doubts about the prosecution's allegation the payment for Platini, a former captain and manager of the French national team, was fraudulent. The 2022 indictment had accused Blatter and Platini of deceiving FIFA staff in 2010 and 2011 about an obligation for world football's ruling body to pay Platini. "They falsely claimed that FIFA owed Platini, or that Platini was entitled to, the sum of 2 million Swiss francs for advisory work. This deception was achieved through repeated untruthful claims made by both accused parties," the indictment said. But the court cleared the pair, saying their account of an oral agreement for the payment could not be ruled out. Platini had argued that the payment had been partly deferred until 2011 because FIFA lacked the funds to pay him in full immediately. The court said the pair had both been consistent in their accounts of the payment, which covered consultancy work carried out by Platini for Blatter between 1998 and 2002. Platini's experience as a top footballer and coach, explained the size of the payment, said the court, which followed the legal principle that in cases of doubt, favour the accused. "It can not be assumed that the defendants acted with the intention of enriching themselves in the sense of the charged offences," the court said. The scandal, which emerged in 2015 when Platini was president of European football's ruling body UEFA, ended his hopes of succeeding Blatter, who was forced out of FIFA over the affair. Blatter and Platini were suspended from football in 2015 by FIFA for ethics breaches, originally for eight years, although their exclusions were later reduced. Platini said he was relieved the case was over, and he had received messages of support from 10,000 people. "The persecution of FIFA and some Swiss federal prosecutors for 10 years is now over," Platini told reporters. "It is now totally over. And for me, today, my honour has returned and I am very happy." The 69-year-old said he thought the case had been intended to prevent him becoming FIFA president, but he was now too old to return to football. The money, which had been confiscated and held by the Swiss authorities, can now be returned to him. A frail-looking Blatter hugged his daughter Corinne after the judgement and said he was relieved with the decision. "It is a great relief for me because it's been going on for ten years. It's like a sword of Damocles hanging over my head," he told reporters. "And now it's over and I can breathe," the 89-year-old said. Prosecutors had sought a sentence of 20 months in jail, suspended for two years for both Blatter and Platini. The Swiss attorney general's office said it would review the written judgement, before deciding whether to appeal again to the Swiss Federal Court, the country's highest legal authority.
Khaleej Times
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Ex-Fifa chief Blatter and Platini cleared in corruption case
Former Fifa President Sepp Blatter and France soccer great Michel Platini were both cleared of corruption charges by a Swiss court on Tuesday, two and a half years after they were first acquitted of the offences. The pair, once among the most powerful figures in global soccer, were cleared of fraud at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in the town of Muttenz, near Basel. The hearing came about after Swiss federal prosecutors appealed against their 2022 acquittal at a lower court. Both men had denied the charge. "After two acquittals, even the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland must realise that these criminal proceedings have definitively failed. Michel Platini must finally be left in peace in criminal matters," Platini's lawyer Dominic Nellen said in a statement. The case related to a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.26 million) payment Blatter authorised for Platini, a former captain and manager of the French national team, in 2011. The payment was a consultancy fee paid to Platini for work carried out between 1998 and 2002, which the Frenchman said had been partly deferred because Fifa lacked the funds to pay him in full immediately. The scandal, which emerged in 2015 when Platini was president of European soccer's ruling body Uefa, ended his hopes of succeeding Blatter, who was forced out of Fifa over the affair. "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 said. Platini said on Tuesday he was "very happy" and felt that his honour had been restored after a Swiss court acquitted him of fraud. "The persecution of FIFA and some Swiss federal prosecutors for 10 years is now over," Platini told reporters. "It is now totally over. And for me, today, my honour has returned and I am very happy." Platini, a former captain and manager of the French national team, said he had received 10,000 messages of support and would celebrate the decision by going to a restaurant.
Al Jazeera
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Ex-FIFA chief Blatter and Platini cleared in corruption case in Switzerland
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and France football great Michel Platini were both cleared of corruption charges by a Swiss appeals court, two and a half years after they were first acquitted of the offences. The pair, once among the most powerful figures in global football, were cleared of fraud on Tuesday at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in the town of Muttenz near Basel. The hearing came about after Swiss federal prosecutors appealed against the two men's 2022 acquittal in a lower court. Blatter and Platini had denied the charge. 'After two acquittals, even the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland must realise that these criminal proceedings have definitively failed. Michel Platini must finally be left in peace in criminal matters,' Platini's lawyer Dominic Nellen said in a statement. The case related to a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.26m) payment Blatter authorised for Platini, a former captain and manager of the French national team, in 2011. The payment was a consultancy fee paid to Platini for work carried out from 1998 to 2002 that the Frenchman said had been partly deferred because FIFA lacked the funds to pay him in full immediately. The scandal, which emerged in 2015 when Platini was president of UEFA, European football's ruling body, ended his hopes of succeeding Blatter, who was forced out of FIFA over the affair. '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 said.
New York Times
25-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Former football chiefs Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini cleared of corruption at Swiss court
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and former UEFA president Michel Platini have been cleared of financial wrongdoing by an appeals court in Switzerland. The case related to a payment of two million Swiss francs (now £1.7m; $2.7m) from FIFA, while Blatter was president, to Platini in 2011. Blatter, 89, and Platini, 69, had been facing a charge of corruption at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court before being cleared, according to a statement to The Athletic from their lawyer, having previously been cleared of fraud more than two years ago. Advertisement Blatter and Platini were initially cleared at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, Switzerland, in July 2022 after an 11-day trial. The Swiss authorities had charged the pair with fraud, mismanagement, misappropriation of FIFA funds and forgery of a document in November 2021, six and a half years after beginning an investigation into them. In December 2015, Blatter and Platini were banned from football for eight years (later reduced to six on appeal) by FIFA after an investigation by its ethics committee. FIFA, and the Swiss authorities, alleged that the two million Swiss francs payment was to ensure Platini helped deliver the requisite votes to ensure Blatter was re-elected as FIFA president in 2011. Blatter and Platini have always denied wrongdoing and said the payment was a fee paid to the former for work he did as an advisor from 1998 to 2002, which was delayed as FIFA lacked the funds to pay him in full at the time. '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,' lawyer Dominic Nellen said in a statement on Tuesday. '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.' The defense team had requested that FIFA be excluded from the appeal proceedings, adding that the organisation did not appear at the latest hearing, which the defense said was 'a clear sign that it too had lost interest in these criminal proceedings following the 2022 acquittal.' Nellen added: 'Michel Platini is relieved about the renewed acquittal. He has always emphasized that the payment was a back payment of wages. This has now been confirmed by the courts for a second time.' Advertisement 'The Office of the Attorney General has not managed to find a single piece of incriminating evidence for over ten years. These proceedings were not justified and should never have been conducted. 'After the failure of the criminal proceedings, the defense will now analyze how to take legal action against those responsible for the criminal proceedings.' Blatter became FIFA president in 1998. His reign as the most powerful figure in football was not without controversies, with several corruption scandals hitting FIFA and the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 men's World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively attracting widespread criticism. Blatter admitted in 2022 that awarding that year's tournament to Qatar 12 years earlier had been 'a mistake'. Platini took over at UEFA in 2007. The former midfielder had featured for Nancy, Saint-Etienne and Juventus during a 15-year playing career between 1972 and 1987, winning the European Championship with France in 1984. Platini had been widely tipped to take over as FIFA president from Blatter before the pair were banned from football in 2015. In February 2016, Gianni Infantino was elected as Blatter's successor and has remained in the role since. (Top image of Blatter: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)
CNN
25-03-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Ex-FIFA chief Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini cleared in corruption case
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and France soccer great Michel Platini were both cleared of corruption charges by a Swiss court on Tuesday, two and a half years after they were first acquitted of the offences. The pair, once among the most powerful figures in global soccer, were cleared of fraud at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in the town of Muttenz, near Basel. The hearing came about after Swiss federal prosecutors appealed against their 2022 acquittal at a lower court. Both men had denied the charge. 'After two acquittals, even the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland must realise that these criminal proceedings have definitively failed. Michel Platini must finally be left in peace in criminal matters,' Platini's lawyer Dominic Nellen said in a statement. The case related to a two million Swiss franc ($2.26 million) payment Blatter authorised for Platini, a former captain and manager of the French national team, in 2011. The payment was a consultancy fee paid to Platini for work carried out between 1998 and 2002, which the Frenchman said had been partly deferred because FIFA lacked the funds to pay him in full immediately. The scandal, which emerged in 2015 when Platini was president of European soccer's ruling body UEFA, ended his hopes of succeeding Blatter, who was forced out of FIFA over the affair. '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 said
