"Justice has prevailed": Blatter and Platini acquitted in a criminal case of fraud

"None of us did anything illegal"

The Swiss Federal Criminal Court has acquitted ex-FIFA chief Josef Blatter and former UEFA president Michel Platini on all counts.

The main one dealt with allegations of fraud.

According to the prosecutor's office, which asked for a 20-month suspended sentence for the suspects, Platini illegally received 2 million Swiss francs from the International Football Federation in 2011.

In turn, the suspects explained the origin of the payment of remuneration for advisory services that the Frenchman provided to FIFA from 1998 to 2002.

After examining all the evidence and hearing the testimony of witnesses, the court considered that the facts presented by the prosecution could not be considered reliable, and the owner of the Golden Ball had no intention of illegal enrichment.

"The Criminal Division of the Federal Criminal Court dismissed all claims against both defendants and halted the bad faith proceedings due to the fact that the statute of limitations had expired before the charges were filed," the final decision reads.

Separately, the clause on the payment in favor of Platini of 229.126 thousand Swiss francs as a contribution to social security was considered.

The court considered that in this case, too, the money was transferred in full accordance with the practice then in force in FIFA.

Finally, the proceedings on the case of unfair performance of duties were completely closed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

Thus, the former functionaries not only were not punished, but will also receive compensation:

“... He also awarded Joseph Z. Blatter and Michel François Platini compensation for the costs incurred in the proceedings, as well as moral damages to Joseph Z. Blatter in the amount of 20 thousand Swiss francs.

It was taken into account that Michel François Platini refused to pay compensation for non-pecuniary damage.”

The now ex-defendants themselves in the case of fraud did not hide their joy.

So, the 86-year-old Swiss, who during the hearing complained of chest pains and breathing problems, admitted that he was incredibly happy.

“I have to express my gratitude to the court, this city and the members of the court for how they analyzed the situation and explained why none of us did anything illegal,” Blatter AP quoted as saying.

And Platini said that he "won the first game," but he would not stop there, but would go to the end "in search of the truth."

“After the decision made... this morning, I wanted to express my joy for all my loved ones, because after seven years of lies and manipulation, justice has finally prevailed.

During this trial, the truth ... came out, ”the ex-head of UEFA emphasized.

If the Swiss ban on any activity in football expires only in 2028, then the younger Frenchman is quite capable of competing for places in the leadership, since his suspension has already come to an end.

In 2016, the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced it from six to four years.

The next FIFA presidential election will take place in March 2023.

The responsible post is now occupied by Gianni Infantino, who worked for a long time at UEFA under Platini as general secretary.

Immediately after the end of the hearings, the functionary only grinned in response to the corresponding question of the journalist.

“Believe me: when you become a real devil from a legend of world football, it is very difficult, especially when it happens to you completely undeservedly,” he explained.

In response, the FIFA press service only stated that they took note of the verdict of the Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland, and intend to wait for the full motivational part to appear.

So far, nothing is known about whether the organization plans to file an appeal.

However, Blatter cannot breathe a sigh of relief, since a separate criminal trial is underway against him in connection with the payment of $ 1 million to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation in 2010 by FIFA.

But Platini, on the contrary, in April he filed a lawsuit against Infantino.

The Frenchman accused the former ally of "influence trading" and named former FIFA legal director Marco Williger as his accomplice.

The owner of the Golden Ball turned to the French prosecutor's office with a demand to interrogate them and four other people.

“What happened around them is absurd”

In Russia, the justification of the ex-heads of FIFA and UEFA was met with enthusiasm.

So, the former president of the RFU, Vyacheslav Koloskov, emphasized that he was initially convinced that there was no criminal component in their affairs.

“Vitsin (Russian actor Georgy Vitsin. -

) would say in this situation: the Swiss court is the fairest court in the world.

And that would be right.

The thing is that he considered their misconduct from the point of view of a criminal offense.

And I came to the absolutely fair conclusion that they did not commit any criminal offense, this falls under the jurisdiction of the ethics committee.

At one time, the committee made a decision - first, disqualification and suspension from any football activity for one term, then CAS reduced it a little, ”the R-Sport functionary quotes.

Moreover, he remembered why exactly the Frenchman received the indicated 2 million Swiss francs from FIFA, since at that time he was a member of the executive committee of the organization.

It turns out that the Swiss instructed a colleague to prepare a unified football calendar, and he worked on this project for two years.

Rejoiced at the verdict of the court and another former president of the RFU, as well as sports minister Vitaly Mutko.

In his opinion, Blatter deserves respect for everything he has done for world football in general and Russia in particular.

“I don’t think any other leader would have done so much.

What he was accused of was stupidity... As for Platini, he is a great football player who made UEFA a serious organization.

What happened around them is absurd, ”Sport-Express quotes Mutko.

In turn, the former head of the organizing committee of the 2018 World Cup, Alexei Sorokin, stressed that the criminal prosecution of both did not concern the procedure for electing the host countries of the 2018 and 2022 world championships.

“For us, all questions about the 2018 World Cup have disappeared a long time ago.

We didn't take them seriously.

We were forced to respond, but kept our opinion.

Their justification has nothing to do with the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. These are the features of their relationship, in which, finally, clarity has come, ”said Sorokin.

However, he did not rule out that Platini could make an attempt to return to the leadership of world football.

“I know, a few years ago he mentioned intentions of this kind.

It is possible that he will return to this thought.

I think the conclusion is very simple.

What sounds in the press and social networks is not always combined with reality and the legal side.

Sometimes it turns out to be two different universes.

You have to be careful with assessments and hasty conclusions,” Sorokin added.