Fraud and swindling

Swiss Court Acquits Blatter, Platini Again in FIFA Corruption Case

Published MAR 26 2025

Story

Above: Former UEFA chief Michel Platini addresses media as he leaves the courthouse after the verdict of an appeal by Swiss Attorney General's office over a suspected fraudulent payment, in Muttenz near Basel, on March 25, 2025. Image credit: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

The Facts

The Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in Muttenz, canton of Basel-Country, acquitted former FIFA and UEFA chiefs Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini on Tuesday of all charges of fraud, forgery, mismanagement and misappropriation related to a Blatter-approved FIFA payment of 2M Swiss francs ($2.25 million) to Platini in 2011.
Swissinfo
The Telegraph
The verdict follows a four-day trial held three weeks ago, and comes as the principle of "in dubio pro reo" had to be applied due to doubts over the indictment. The two are each entitled to a six-figure compensation from the Swiss state and FIFA.
Swissinfo
ap
This is the second time that a Swiss court clears them of FIFA charges, as Blatter and Platini were first acquitted at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona in July 2022. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland challenged that verdict asking for 20-month sentences, suspended for two years.
France 24
The New York Times
The case against Blatter and Platini was opened four years after the payment, as its details only emerged during the biggest-ever corruption crisis that hit FIFA in 2015, and centered on whether there was a legal basis to pay Platini for a non-contracted advisory work between 1998 and 2002.
ap
BBC News
Blatter and Platini have been out of the soccer administration since they were suspended — and later banned — from the sport for alleged ethics violations in 2015. Platini's ban expired in 2019 but he has no plans to return to soccer, and Blatter is banned until 2028 due to separate allegations of ethics breaches.
ap
The New York Times
The Swiss prosecutors can file a further appeal to the Swiss Supreme Court, and they said in a statement that they have yet to "decide about how to further proceed" regarding the decade-long case.
ap
guardian

Sources Split

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RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

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PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

This retrial was absolutely nonsensical and a waste of time and public resources, as the Federal Criminal Court had already confirmed that the contract between Blatter and Platini at the heart of this case was legitimate. Luckily, Swiss federal prosecutors carrying out this witch hunt did not succeed.

RFI

Narrative B

Prosecutors can still appeal to the Swiss Supreme Court even now that Blatter and Platini have been acquitted twice — and they must because a path to their conviction remains open. It has always been an uphill battle to translate their unethical practices into criminal offenses but one worth fighting for.