Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and ex-UEFA boss Michel Platini have once again been acquitted in a decade-long corruption saga that rocked the football world.
On Tuesday, a Swiss appeals court in Muttenz, near Basel, ruled in favor of the two football heavyweights, rejecting prosecutors’ push for suspended 20-month sentences. This follows their initial acquittal in 2022, further reinforcing their stance of innocence.
The Case That Shook FIFA
The charges stemmed from a controversial payment of 2 million Swiss francs (€1.8 million) made to Platini by FIFA in 2011 for consultancy work he did nearly a decade earlier. While Blatter and Platini insisted the payment was legitimate, prosecutors claimed it was fraudulent and designed to deceive FIFA’s internal controls.
The scandal derailed both men’s careers—Blatter resigned as FIFA president in 2015 amid a wider corruption crackdown, and Platini’s hopes of succeeding him were crushed.
Platini’s lawyer, Dominic Nellen, didn’t hold back after the latest verdict, declaring, “After two acquittals, the prosecution must accept that this case has failed. Michel Platini deserves to be left alone.”
Is This the End?
Despite the ruling, Swiss prosecutors still have one last chance to challenge the verdict at the country’s highest court. However, such appeals are limited to legal technicalities rather than fresh evidence.
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