Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and French football legend Michel Platini have been acquitted of corruption charges by a Swiss court, reaffirming their innocence two and a half years after their initial acquittal.
The ruling was delivered by the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in Muttenz, near Basel, following an appeal by Swiss federal prosecutors against their 2022 acquittal.
Blatter and Platini, once among the most influential figures in global football, had been accused of fraud over a 2 million Swiss franc payment ($2.2 million) that Blatter authorized for Platini in 2011. Prosecutors alleged that the payment was fraudulent and that both men had misled FIFA officials about its legitimacy.
However, the court found that there were reasonable doubts about the prosecution’s claims, ruling in favor of the accused.
The 2022 indictment had accused the duo of falsely claiming that FIFA was obligated to pay Platini for advisory work conducted between 1998 and 2002. Prosecutors argued that the payment was fabricated to unlawfully enrich Platini.
Despite these allegations, the court ruled that Blatter and Platini had been consistent in their testimonies and that their claims of an oral agreement for delayed payment could not be dismissed. It also stated that Platini’s stature as a former top footballer and coach justified the sum he received.
“It cannot be assumed that the defendants acted with the intention of enriching themselves in the sense of the charged offences,” the court stated, applying the legal principle of “in dubio pro reo” (when in doubt, rule in favor of the accused).
Michel Platini, the former UEFA president, expressed relief following the verdict:
“The persecution by FIFA and some Swiss federal prosecutors over the past 10 years is finally over. My honor has been restored, and I am very happy.”
He added that he believed the case was politically motivated to prevent him from becoming FIFA president but noted that at 69, he was too old to return to football administration.
Meanwhile, Sepp Blatter, now 89, was visibly emotional, hugging his daughter after the ruling.
“This has been a decade-long ordeal—like a sword of Damocles hanging over me. Now, it’s over, and I can finally breathe,” he said.
The confiscated 2 million Swiss francs, which had been held by Swiss authorities, is now set to be returned to Platini.
Despite the acquittal, Swiss federal prosecutors have not ruled out another appeal. The attorney general’s office stated that it would review the written judgment before deciding whether to take the case to the Swiss Federal Court, the country’s highest legal authority.
Prosecutors had originally sought a 20-month suspended sentence for both men.
The corruption case, which emerged in 2015, ended Platini’s ambitions of succeeding Blatter as FIFA president and led to both men receiving long bans from football by FIFA’s Ethics Committee. Originally suspended for eight years, their bans were later reduced.
This latest ruling marks a significant legal victory for both men, bringing an end—at least for now—to one of the biggest scandals in FIFA’s history.
