Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and French football legend Michel Platini were both cleared of corruption charges by a Swiss court on Friday.
Blatter, who led FIFA for 17 years, was cleared of fraud by the Federal Criminal Court in the southern city of Bellinzona. Platini, the former captain and manager of the French national team, was also acquitted of cheating.
Prosecutors allege Blatter and Platini illegally arranged for FIFA to pay the French player two million Swiss francs ($2.06 million) in 2011. Prosecutors asked the court imposed a suspended 20-month prison sentence on both men and forced them to return Zurich-based FIFA 2.23 million Swiss francs.
The incident meant Blatter ended his reign as FIFA president in disgrace and it dashed Platini’s hopes of succession after he was banned from football when the case came to light. the light. Blatter, 86, said the two million franc payment followed a “gentleman’s agreement” between the two when he asked Platini to be his technical adviser in 1998.
Platini, 67, worked as a consultant from 1998 to 2002 with an annual salary of 300,000 Swiss francs – the highest salary FIFA could pay because of the money troubles the organization was facing at the time, Blatter told the court. The remainder of Platini’s one million-a-year salary will be paid out at a later date, Blatter said.
“I would like to express my happiness to all my loved ones that justice has finally been done after seven years of lies and manipulation,” Platini said in a statement.
“The truth has come to light in this trial,” he added. “I keep saying: my fight is against injustice. I won the first game.”
The motive for the alleged payment is unclear, although the two men met in 2010 and discussed the upcoming election for FIFA president in 2011. When Blatter approved the payment He is campaigning for re-election against Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar. Platini, then president of the European football association UEFA, was seen as having swings with European members who could influence the vote.
Prosecutors said an oral agreement between the two men for Platini to be subsequently paid two million francs for his consulting work never existed, and described it as an “invention”. The payment comes after a massive investigation initiated by the US Department of Justice into bribery, fraud and money laundering at FIFA in 2015, which led to Blatter’s resignation.
Both officials were banned in 2015 from playing football for eight years because of the payment, although their bans were later eased.
Platini, who also lost his UEFA presidency following the ban, said the incident was a deliberate attempt to thwart his bid to become FIFA president in 2015.
