Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and ex-UEFA chief Michel Platini have been acquitted of corruption charges by a Swiss court. The ruling, delivered on Tuesday, stems from a controversial 2 million Swiss francs (£1.6m; $2.26m) payment Blatter authorised to Platini in 2011. Swiss prosecutors, who cried fraud, forgery, and mismanagement, had appealed a 2022 acquittal, but their case has now collapsed.
The money, the pair insist, was a delayed consultancy fee for Platini’s work from 1998 to 2002—a verbal deal struck when FIFA’s coffers were thin. Platini, a French football legend, claimed the debt in 2011. Prosecutors slammed it as “unfounded,” alleging the duo duped FIFA with fake claims.
The 2015 bombshell ended Blatter’s 17-year reign at FIFA and torched Platini’s UEFA presidency, killing his shot at FIFA’s top job. Now 89 and 69 respectively, both have stood firm, denying wrongdoing for a decade.
“After two acquittals, even the Attorney General must see this is over,” Platini’s lawyer, Dominic Nellen, declared. “Michel Platini deserves peace.” The saga, which rocked football’s core, closes with the pair vindicated—twice.
