The emperors who crashed FIFA...Blatter, Platini Face Off Again In Court
The emperors who crashed FIFA...Blatter, Platini Face Off Again In Court
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Former FIFA president Jeff Blatter (89) and French soccer legend Michel Platini (70) are back in court in Switzerland.
Blatter and Platini attended the Mutens Court of Appeals near Basel, Switzerland on the 3rd (local time), the BBC said. "The trial will run until the 7th, and the final ruling will be made on the 25th."
The two were acquitted of fraud in connection with 2 million Swiss francs paid to Platini in 2011 by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court in 2022, but Swiss federal prosecutors have appealed against it. Blatter insisted in court, "Lies or deception did not exist in my life. I am innocent." Platini's lawyer also stressed, "It was the right decision to judge that the payment was legal in the first trial ruling in 2022."
The incident began when Blatter hired Platini as an adviser after he took office as FIFA president in 1998. At the time, Platini demanded an annual salary of 1 million Swiss francs, but due to FIFA's poor financial situation, they agreed to receive only a portion of the payment. Platini quit his job with FIFA in 2002, but he has not requested any additional payment since then. However, in January 2011, Platini sent an invoice to FIFA, which paid the amount with Blatter's approval.
In 2015, Swiss prosecutors accused Blatter and Platini of fraud and forgery of documents, judging that they had deceived FIFA to receive unfair payments. At the same time, FIFA's ethics committee also banned the two from football-related activities for eight years. Although the disciplinary period has been reduced since then, the two were completely expelled from FIFA.
In the first trial in 2022, Blatter and Platini were acquitted of the "Gentlemen's Agreement" claimed, but the trial was held on appeal by the prosecution.
Blatter joined FIFA in 1975 and became its president in 1998 after serving as its secretary-general in 1981. He led FIFA for 17 years afterwards, but stepped down in 2015 due to a massive corruption scandal. Platini won the Ballon d'Or, the most prestigious individual award in Europe, 먹튀검증 three times (1983-1985), won the European Championship in 1984, and the European Cup in 1985. Platini, who also led the French national team as a leader, strengthened his position as an administrator by being inaugurated as the president of UEFA in 2007. However, he gave up running for FIFA president in 2015 due to his involvement in FIFA corruption cases, and was later completely excluded from soccer administration.