Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter were acquitted on Tuesday morning in Muttenz, Switzerland, following the appeal hearing in the case of the 2 million Swiss francs. This verdict marks the epilogue of a legal saga that began in 2015, related to the scandal known as “FIFAgate.”

AN EXPECTED VERDICT

The ruling was announced shortly after 10 a.m. in the courtroom of the criminal justice center in Muttenz, near Basel. The three judges of the extraordinary appeals court of the Federal Criminal Court confirmed the acquittal of Platini, aged 69, and Blatter, aged 89, who had already been exonerated in the first instance in July 2022 due to reasonable doubt.

The case revolved around a payment of 2 million Swiss francs (equivalent to 1.8 million euros at the time) made to Michel Platini in early 2011, with the consent of Sepp Blatter, then president of FIFA. This payment was related to “technical advisor” work that Platini allegedly carried out between 1998 and 2002.

THE PROSECUTION FAILED TO ACHIEVE ITS GOAL

The Swiss prosecution had requested a suspended 20-month prison sentence for both former officials, arguing that the payment was “unfair” and constituted a case of “fraud.” However, the extraordinary appeals court dismissed these accusations, as it had done in the initial trial.

This verdict brings an end to nearly a decade of legal proceedings for Platini and Blatter, who have maintained their innocence since the beginning of the case.