Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini Fully Acquitted Again in FIFA Corruption Trial

Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and ex-UEFA President Michel Platini have been acquitted once again by the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court, concluding a decade-long legal battle over an alleged improper payment of €2.1 million.

This second acquittal clears the two football officials of all charges, including fraud, forgery, mismanagement, and misappropriation of funds related to a 2011 payment made by FIFA to Platini for advisory services provided between 1998 and 2002.

The Swiss Attorney General’s Office had previously appealed the pair’s initial acquittal from July 2022 and sought suspended prison sentences of 20 months. However, the court found no legal basis for a conviction, reaffirming that the payment was made under a verbal agreement and that there was no evidence of criminal intent.

Dominic Nellen, Platini’s legal representative, emphasized that the verdict should end the long-standing legal pressure on his client:

“After two full acquittals, it is time for these proceedings to come to a close. Michel Platini must now be allowed to move on without further criminal allegations.”

The case stemmed from a payment authorized by Blatter in early 2011, which Platini claimed was delayed compensation due to financial constraints at FIFA during his advisory tenure. Though the transaction became public during the sweeping corruption probe that rocked FIFA in 2015, both men have consistently defended the legitimacy of their verbal agreement.

The fallout from the case was significant. Platini, once considered a leading candidate to succeed Blatter as FIFA President, saw his football career halted when both were suspended by the FIFA Ethics Committee in October 2015. Although Platini’s ban ended in 2019, Blatter remains suspended from football activities until 2028 due to additional ethics violations related to excessive bonus payments.

Despite this latest court ruling, Swiss prosecutors still have the option to appeal to the country’s Federal Supreme Court, though it remains uncertain whether they will proceed.