On Friday, a Swiss court exonerated ex FIFA President Sepp Blatter and France football great Michel Platini of alleged corruption. Blatter, FIFA’s president for 17 years, was exonerated of fraud by the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, Italy. Check out more details about it below.
Blatter and Platini are cleared in the FIFA corruption case
Platini, a captain and manager of the France national team, was also found not guilty of fraud.
The two, who were previously among the most prominent men in global soccer, have rejected the allegations. Prosecutors charged Blatter, a Swiss who commanded FIFA for 17 years, and Platini of illegally negotiating for FIFA to receive the Frenchman $2 million Swiss francs ($2.06 million) in 2011.
As Blatter hired Platini as his technical advisor in 1998, he stated that the 2 million franc compensation was the consequence of a “legal agreement” among two men.
As per Blatter, Platini, received 300,000 Swiss francs a year as an adviser from 1998 and 2002, which was the highest amount FIFA could give owing to financial problems the organization was having at the moment.
Blatter stated that the remaining $1 million of Platini’s annual pay would be paid out later. Although the two individuals met in 2010 and spoke about the 2011 FIFA presidency elections, the reasons behind the transaction remain unknown.
Blatter was running for re-election over Qatar’s Mohamed bin Hammam at the time he authorized the payment.
Platini was regarded to have clout with European colleagues who may impact the choice. Platini was also sacked as UEFA president as a result of the punishment. He said the event was staged to derail his 2015 campaign to manage FIFA. Platini’s previous UEFA secretary general, Gianni Infantino, campaigned for and come to power of FIFA in 2016.
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