Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and French icon Michel Platini cleared of corruption charges by the Swiss court
Follow Us
A Swiss court has cleared former FIFA and UEFA presidents Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini of fraud. The pair were once two of football’s most powerful decision-makers, with Blatter leading FIFA from 1998 to 2015 and Platini heading UEFA from 2007 to 2015.
Both men were suspended from their positions in October 2015 while an investigation into a payment made by Blatter to Platini for consulting services was underway. Later that year, they were barred from any involvement in football for the next eight years.
The pair, however, have been acquitted of the fraud charge that ended their careers seven years ago. According to The Guardian, prosecutors claimed that the payment was made “without a legal basis,” but the judge acquitted the two men, As a result, Platini will receive the £1.7 million
Speaking outside the courtroom Blatter said, “I am a happy man. I also have to express thanks to the court and the way they analysed the situation. They have explained why both of us haven’t done anything. I am convinced that in Switzerland we are still in a good organization.” However, earlier he admitted that “I am not innocent in my life, but in this case I am innocent.”
Read More: Qatar FIFA World Cup stadiums set to be alcohol-free; beer sales to be allowed outside arenas only
Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were accused of issuing ‘FAKE’ invoices to FIFA
At the end of a six-year investigation and two-week trial into a 2011 payment alleged to have been illegal, an affair that put an end to Platini’s ambitions to lead FIFA in 2015, both men have been cleared. The case had originally led to both being banned from football by the FIFA ethics committee.
The former UEFA president and Juventus midfielder was accused of submitting a ‘false invoice’ for two million Swiss francs for advisory work done for Blatter between 1998 and 2002. Blatter and Platini insisted on a verbal ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ over a one-million-franc salary that FIFA’s finances would not pay right away. Both parties agreed that a contract for a yearly salary of 300,000 francs had been signed in 1999.
Read More: FIFA to deploy new advanced technology to detect offsides at the 2022 Qatar World Cup
Stay Updated!
Sujeeth Shetty
(766 Articles Published)