Former President of the International Football Federation (FIFA) Joseph Blatter and former UEFA President Michel Platini will return to court on Monday for the revival of their judicial process regarding financial violations, which has lasted almost 10 years. In July 2022, three federal judges exonerated Blatter and football legend Platini of charges of fraud, forgery, embezzlement, and violations related to the payment of 2 million Swiss francs to Platini from FIFA when he was head of UEFA.
The exoneration came almost seven years after investigations began, during which they were stripped of their positions and also suspended Platini’s campaign to replace Blatter as FIFA president. The Swiss prosecutor's office filed an appeal against these initial decisions in October 2022, and a new process will begin tomorrow in the Swiss town of Moutiers, near Basel. It is expected that three judges will issue a decision on this case on March 25 of the current year.
Blatter and Platini continually deny committing any violations and assert that they reached an oral agreement regarding the payment of money for unofficially provided consulting services to Blatter during his first term as president from 1998 to 2002. Federal prosecutors requested a conviction in the form of a suspended sentence of two years.
Blatter was elected FIFA president in 2011 when a payment to Platini was completed, which at that time was replacing the president of the international federation and the head of UEFA. After the development of this payment in February 2011, in connection with the scandal with corruption, Blatter and Platini were dismissed from their posts.
As a result of various judicial instances, including FIFA, the Swiss federal court in Bellinzona, and the Supreme Court regarding sports in Lausanne, the guilt of both was confirmed and overturned. However, Blatter and Platini managed to win in the federal criminal court in Bellinzona. FIFA's governance filed a civil lawsuit for the return of money and 229 thousand Swiss francs (253 thousand dollars) for social deductions and precedents.
During Platini's judicial process, which he led UEFA from 2007, he began to demand additional money at the beginning of 2010. A payment of 2 million Swiss francs was made by FIFA in January 2011 after the voting for the granting of rights to the organization of the World Championships in 2018 and 2022 in Russia and Qatar. Federal prosecutors stated that "this payment harmed FIFA's finances and legally enriched Platini."