“The whole world knows the truth now”: Swiss Criminal Court acquits Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini for their corruption case with FIFA
- Sounak Sinha
- Mar 30
- 2 min read
After almost a year and a half, FIFA’s controversial scandal, involving former President Sepp Blatter and French footballer Michel Platini, has finally been resolved and ended up clearing a shroud from the actual truth.
On Tuesday, 25th March, the world witnessed the final verdict on the case which was delivered by the Swiss Criminal Court in the town of Muttenz, near Basel. (As reported by CNN Sports).
Defending Michel Platini as his lawyer, Dominic Nellen spoke to the press after the final verdict, stating, “After two acquittals, even the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland must realise that these criminal proceedings have definitively failed. Michel Platini must finally be left in peace in criminal matters.”
What was FIFA's scandal involving Blatter and Platini about?
The controversy took place when the former FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, authorised a payment worth a staggering amount of $2.26m for Michel Platini, which many believe to be a “consultancy fee” for his services at FIFA during the timeframe of 1998 to 2002.
The alleged scandal came to light in 2015, which ended all hopes for Platini to become the next FIFA president after Blatter, while forcing him to leave his position as the UEFA president in the hands of Alexander Ceferin.
Although FIFA couldn’t pay the entire fee to the French forward due to lack of funds, the prosecutors didn’t focus on this part of the case as they were busy defaming him in front of the entire world, according to his lawyer, Dominic Nellen.
As per CNN, Nellen also stated, “The criminal proceedings have had not only legal but also massive personal and professional consequences for Michel Platini – although no incriminating evidence was ever presented. Among other things, the criminal proceedings prevented his election as FIFA president in 2016."
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