The appeals chamber of the court in the Swiss city of Muttenz on March 25 dropped corruption charges against former FIFA president Joseph Blatter and former UEFA head Michel Platini.
This is reported by the BBC.
Both were involved in a case involving the improper payment of 2 million Swiss francs
Prosecutors said Blatter, 89, and Platini, 69, defrauded FIFA by forging documents. Prosecutors said the payment had no legal basis. Former football executives have called the transaction a late payment for consulting work Platini allegedly did for FIFA.
At the first court hearing, Joseph Blatter said that he invited Michel Platini to work as his advisor in 1998. At that time, FIFA was unable to pay the annual fee of 1 million Swiss francs that Platini demanded, the former president of the federation added. The men set an annual fee of 300 000 francs, and agreed to pay the rest later.
The Swiss Federal Court in Bellinzona acquitted both back in 2022, but the decision was appealed by Swiss federal prosecutors, leading to a new hearing.
"Finally, the court has done justice for me, my family and my friends. This is a great event. Today my honor has been restored and I am very happy," Blatter said, speaking to reporters after the verdict.
Platiniʼs lawyer has spoken about plans to file a lawsuit against those responsible for the criminal prosecution. He considers it unjustified, as the prosecutorʼs office has allegedly been unable to find any evidence of the crime for more than 10 years.
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