Platini sues FIFA president Gianni Infantino for corruption, two former close partners
On the evening of April 5th, Beijing time, former UEFA President Platini issued an official statement announcing that a criminal case was filed against the current FIFA President Infantino, accusing him of corruption.
Platini said in a statement that he had authorized lawyers to bring criminal charges against FIFA President Gianni Infantino and former FIFA legal director Marco Villiger on charges including power for personal gain and corruption.
In 2015, Platini was accused of receiving a "disloyal payment" of 2 million Swiss francs (about 13 million yuan) paid by former FIFA president Blatter in 2011, and thus was banned from participating in football-related activities. Activity for 8 years, which was later reduced to four years on appeal.
Infantino and Platini worked together at UEFA, when Infantino was UEFA secretary general and Platini was UEFA president.
Infantino was elected FIFA president in 2016, becoming the ninth official president of FIFA in its 112-year history.
In 2019, in the absence of other candidates, Infantino was successfully re-elected for a term until 2023.
According to the current FIFA regulations, the term of the FIFA president is up to three terms, which means that Infantino can be re-elected as president at most until 2027.
But now Platini's lawsuit has brought more uncertainty about Infantino's future at FIFA.