jeu, Oct 20th 2022
UEFA President Michel Platini (right) congratulates former FIFA President Sepp Blatter (left) after he was re-elected at the 65th FIFA Congress in Zurich.
Swiss federal prosecutors announced today that they have filed an appeal over the acquittals of former UEFA President Michel Platini and former FIFA President Sepp Blatter. In July, Platini and Blatter were acquitted of corruption charges after a seven-year investigation; the “not guilty” verdict caught many in the sports world by surprise.
More on the charges
Swiss federal prosecutors announced in 2015 that they were investigating a CHF 2 million payment that FIFA made to Platini in 2011. The payment, which was directed under Blatter’s leadership, was made illegally according to prosecutors and “damaged FIFA’s assets and unlawfully enriched Platini.”
Blatter and Platini have denied any wrongdoing since 2015. According to them, the money was part of Platini’s salary for consultancy services, but for work carried out in 1998 and 2002. The payment was apparently agreed upon verbally between the two men and delayed because FIFA was having financial problems at the time.
Swiss authorities disputed the legality of their so-called “gentlemen’s agreement” and questioned the timing of the payment, since it fell outside a five-year limit. As an immediate consequence, both men were then banned from football for eight years. However, their suspension was later reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Blatter was formally charged with fraud, mismanagement, misappropriation of funds, and forgery of a document. Platini was charged with participating in those offenses. Both men faced up to five years in prison and fines.
Blatter told journalists outside the courthouse that he was “blameless.”
The trial
The corruption trial was slated for July in a Swiss court in Bellinzona. The trial wasn’t off to a good start: It was delayed by a day after Blatter announced he was too ill to testify. The next day, however, the 86-year-old seemed to be in good spirits when he showed up at the courthouse.
“I am confident because I am blameless,” Blatter said to several journalists before entering.
Seemingly just as confident, Platini’s statement before the trial was: “I am convinced that justice will be fully and definitively served, after so many years of wild accusations and slander.”
The trial took an interesting turn when Platini and his defense lawyers claimed that the investigation was all part of a plot to prevent him from becoming FIFA president in 2015 and instead, make way for the current FIFA president, Gianni Infantino. Platini’s reasoning was that the 2011 payment had never been an issue until 2015 when the FIFA presidential post became vacant.
The defense raised another question: How did the Federal Prosecutor’s Office find out about the payment in the first place? They argued that it would be nearly impossible for them to find one bill amongst piles and piles of documents. They argued that the Prosecutor’s Office had been tipped off by Infantino or his entourage.
The headquarters of FIFA is a distinctive complex in Zürich that opened in 2006.
The verdict
In a surprise to many, both men were acquitted of all charges based on the Swiss legal precedent of “innocent until proven guilty.” The court announced that Blatter would receive CHF 82,000 in compensation from the Confederation for his defense costs and CHF 20,000 in a settlement. Platini was awarded CHF 143,000 in compensation, but renounced his settlement. FIFA, as the private plaintiff, will not be compensated.
The appeal
After the verdict, prosecutors announced that they would examine everything before deciding whether to file an appeal, but the case was largely forgotten. Blatter and Platini moved on with their lives. FIFA moved forward with its tournaments and award shows; and, with its plans for the much-anticipated World Cup – set to start just one month from today in Qatar.
“We confirm that the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has filed an appeal with the Appeals Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court within the statutory time limit […] and has requested that the first-instance judgment be set aside in its entirety,” the Prosecutor’s Office announced this morning. It declined further comment for now. Stay tuned.
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