Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and French legend 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 mismanagement 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 charges which related to a 2 million Swiss franc (£1.6m) payment made to Platini, who was UEFA president at the time, in 2011.
But on Tuesday, the pair were acquitted for a second time on charges of fraud, forgery, mismanagement and misappropriation of FIFA money.
Blatter, 89, gave little reaction listening to the verdict of the three judges.
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter (above) and French legend Michel Platini were both cleared of corruption charges by a Swiss court, two-and-a-half years after they were first acquitted
The charges related to a 2 million Swiss franc (£1.6m) payment made to Platini (above) in 2011
Blatter and Platini (pictured in 2015) were once among the most powerful figures in football
The attorney general’s office in Switzerland had challenged a first acquittal in July 2022 and asked for sentences of 20 months, suspended for two years.
The scandal ended both men’s career in football as they were banned from the global game in 2015, with Platini’s dream of succeeding Blatter at FIFA in tatters.
Both Blatter and Platini denied wrongdoing and said the money was belated payment for FIFA advisory work done by the Frenchman between 1998 and 2002.
Platini had claimed the payment was partly deferred because FIFA lacked the funds to pay him in full immediately at the time.
However, both individuals were suspended for ethics breaches, originally for eight years.
Although their bans were later reduced, it effectively finished their careers in football administration.
Meanwhile, back at the original trial in 2022, the judge had concluded the pair’s version of events was credible.
Blatter had claimed that he had ‘a gentleman’s agreement’ with Platini but that the agreement had been purely oral, was made without witnesses and did not appear in FIFA’s accounts. The judge also said serious doubts existed about the prosecution’s allegation that it was fraudulent.
Blatter, now 89, looked frail as he appeared for the retrial but continued to plead his innocence
The pair had claimed the money was belated payment for FIFA advisory work done Platini
Platini and Blatter were both banned from football for ethics breaches, originally for eight years
The Swiss federal prosecutor had nevertheless appealed the verdict, saying in a statement: ‘The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has filed an appeal against the first-instance judgment and submitted a statement of appeal in October 2022 requesting that the judgment be set aside in full.’
The indictment against Blatter and Platini stated: ‘They falsely claimed that FIFA owed Platini, or that Platini was entitled to, the sum of two million Swiss francs for advisory work. This deception was achieved through repeated untruthful claims made by both accused parties.’
The criminal action against Blatter has taken a major toll on his health and last year, in an interview with the Telegraph, he accused prosecutors of banking on him dying before his retrial so that they avoided him winning again in court.
The retrial had taken place in early March, with Blatter, now 89, looking particularly frail as he appeared in the dock.
However, Blatter was as defiant as ever as he reaffirmed his innocence to the court.
‘When you talk about falsehoods, lies and deception, that’s not me. That didn’t exist in my whole life,’ he had said.
‘We had principles in my family – we take only money we have earned. I am innocent.’
Despite the rigmarole of the trail, Blatter had earlier insisted to reporters outside the court that he was in fine spirits.
‘I am very positive. Today is a very sunny day and I’m going into this with positive energy,’ he said.
