BELLINZONA, Swiss
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and France footballing legend Michel Platini were both cleared of corruption charges by a Swiss court on Friday.
Blatter, who led FIFA for 17 years, was cleared of fraud by the Federal Criminal Court in the southern city of Bellinzona.
Platini, a former France national team captain and manager, was also acquitted of fraud.
The two, once among the most powerful figures in global soccer, had denied the charges against them. On Friday they joked and shook hands before the judgment and looked relieved as the verdict was read out.
Platini described his joy after the acquittal, saying the allegations had turned him from a legend of world soccer to a “devil”.
"I want to express my happiness for all my loved ones that justice has finally been done after seven years of lies and manipulation,” Platini said in a statement.
"The truth has come to light during this trial,” he added. “I kept saying it: my fight is a fight against injustice. I won a first game.”
Prosecutors had accused Blatter, a Swiss who led global soccer body FIFA for 17 years, and Platini of unlawfully arranging for FIFA to pay the Frenchman two million Swiss francs (2.06 million U.S. dollars) in 2011.
The case meant Blatter ended his reign as FIFA president in disgrace and it wrecked Platini’s hopes of succeeding him after he was banned from football when the affair came to light.
Blatter, 86, had said the two-million franc payment followed a “gentlemen’s agreement” between the pair when he asked Platini to be his technical adviser in 1998.
Both officials were banned in 2015 from soccer for eight years over the payment, although their bans were later reduced.
Platini, who also lost his job as UEFA president following the ban, said the affair was a deliberate attempt to thwart his attempt to become FIFA president in 2015.
Platini’s former general secretary at UEFA, Gianni Infantino, entered the FIFA race and won the election in 2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment