Blatter and Platini back in the Swiss court in the long -standing legal saga | Football news
Former football leaders Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini return to court at a new trial of fraud over $ 2 million in FIFA payments.
Former football leaders Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini are again in the Swiss court, and their new trial of fraud, forgery and charges of embezzlement are opened.
“I hope,” former FIFA president Blatter, appearing fragile a week before his 89th birthday, he told reporters in German as he slowly walked down the stairs to the Muttenz court, reaching for the handrail to wish everyone a good day on Monday.
He arrived 10 minutes after his co-accused Platini, former UEFA president and FIFA vice president.
Blatter and Platini have faced another trial for almost three years after they were released by three federal judges. The charges relate to Blatter the approved FIFA payment of 2 million Swiss francs (now $ 2.21 million) to Platini.
When the federal prosecutors announced their initial indictment in November 2021, they said that the payment was “damaged by FIFA’s property illegally enriched with platinum.”
The acquittal arrived almost seven years after the investigation was first discovered and removed them from duty as FIFA -ei UEFA leaders. She also finished Platini’s campaign to succeed Blatter as president of FIFA.
The second trial is expected to last four days until Thursday. The judgment of three judges was scheduled for March 25.
Blatter and Platini consistently denied injustice. They claim that they had a verbal agreement to eventually pay for the platinum for work that did not arrange for Blatter’s counseling during their first presidential term from 1998 to 2002.
Federal prosecutors have requested a 20 -month prison sentence for two years.
Blatter and Platini returned to court for more than 14 years after the payment was made and nine and a half years after the Swiss federal investigators officially opened their case.
Details of payment appeared in the outlet of the Corruption Corr who hit FIFA in May 2015. Federal investigators in the United States have bought a great investigation into international football officials. The Swiss authorities carried out early morning arrests at the Zurich hotels before seizing the final and business records of FIFA.
Blatter and Platini were acquitted in July 2022. After a 11-day trial at the Federal Criminal Court in Switzerland, Belinzoni.
A few months later, he filed an office of the Swiss Attorney General and FIFA, and the new trial was postponed after Platini assumed the verdict last year to complain that federal judges complain.
The second trial was eventually opened on Monday at the Cantonal (state) court sitting as a federal court. He is heard in German by three judges, each from a different canton (state). FIFA is not represented in court.
“Where’s Fifa?” Platini’s lawyer Dominic Nellen asked the judges, seeking rejection of the appeal and the civilian request of the football body.
FIFA continued the civic case to regain money and 229,000 Swiss francs ($ 253,000) in paid social costs, plus interest. Platini said he had declared the money in revenue and paid taxes on him.
Neither Blatter nor Platini worked for football because in October 2015 they were suspended by the FIFA Ethics Committee. They were later banned and failed to undo these prohibitions in separate appeals by the Court of Arbitration for Sports in 2016.
Platini’s ban expired in 2019, and Blatter gave a subsequent ban by FIFA 2021, months before his first needed to end.
Former FIFA president is persecuted from football until the end of 2028-where will be at the age of 92-year-old persecution of allegedly independent independent independent independent in bonuses for management of osmerocyctic management paid for the successful organization of the World Cup men in 2010 and 2014.
