sports policy
Power and no cheating: Platini and Blatter innocent
The former president of the world football association FIFA, Joseph Blatter, makes a statement before the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona. Photo: Alessandro Crinari/KEYSTONE/TI-PRESSKEYSTONE/dpa
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For Joseph Blatter and Michel Platini, accused of fraud, the acquittal ended a nightmare that had lasted years. It’s not the end of the line: Platini wants to go into extra time.
Immediately after the acquittal, Joseph Blatter and Michel Platini grabbed their cell phones and texted eagerly. When it was all over, the once powerful FIFA boss Blatter fell into the arms of his troubled daughter.
After seven years on suspicion of fraud, the former top football officials have been acquitted of fraud and other offenses by Switzerland’s highest criminal court. “I’m a happy man,” Blatter later said outside the court. Former UEFA boss Platini spoke of a “great victory for me”.
Judge Contu: “In dubio pro reo”
Judge Joséphine Contu considered her version of the agreements to pay millions more plausible than the doubts that the public prosecutor’s office had about it. “In dubio pro reo,” she said at the verdict in Bellinzona, “in case of doubt for the accused – this results in a comprehensive acquittal.”
Blatter (86), President of the World Football Association until 2016, and Platini (67), once President of the European Football Union, reacted with relief and satisfaction. It is clear that the ban that FIFA imposed on her at the time was unjustified.
Both had come to the court victorious. Following the acquittal, Blatter posed for the cameras with a thumbs up and a big grin. “I’m an honest man, I’m clean,” Blatter said. He believes in God and Swiss justice and will now go home in peace. Platini, on the other hand, was combative. For him, the matter is not over yet, he said.
According to the accused, a “gentlemen’s agreement”
What was it about? Blatter had waved through a payment of two million Swiss francs (today around 2.02 million euros) from FIFA coffers for Platini in 2011. These are outstanding payments for Platini’s consulting work from 1998 to 2002 and are based on verbal agreements. A gentlemen’s agreement – male friendship.
The judge believed the two, also that the sum did not match verbal agreements and the money was only paid years later. Platini didn’t need the money at all, she says. On the other hand, she had doubts about the version of the federal prosecutor, who believed that Blatter and Platini had made up the oral contract in order to slip Platini two million francs.
At the time, it was speculated in the media that Blatter wanted to use this payment from Platini to secure support for re-election to a new term in 2011 against a challenger. In return, he is said to have promised Platini to set him up as his successor in 2015.
Platini continues to be combative
Intrigues, power games and cheating – this is not unfamiliar territory for FIFA. That’s exactly what Platini accuses his former friends of today. The completely correct additional fee payment from 2011 was only called into question when he wanted to start his biggest career leap: the application for the office of FIFA President. The investigations prevented that. With regard to the FIFA internal investigation, Platini said in Bellinzona after the verdict: “You treated me as a briber and money launderer, I will not let that rest.” What he plans to do remains vague.
His lawyer quoted Platini in a statement: “In this terrible case, there are culprits who have not appeared in this process. I guarantee you: we will meet again.” He “will not give up and will go to the end in search of the truth”.
The public prosecutor’s office only wants to decide how to proceed after studying the written reasons for the judgment. She could appeal. The verdict is not yet legally binding. FIFA also let it be known that they wanted to wait for the court’s complete verdict before deciding on further steps.
FIFA boss Infantino also in focus
In any case, the current FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, who succeeded Blatter in 2016 instead of Platini, benefited from the investigation against Platini. Whether he catapulted himself into office with targeted moves could soon become public. Criminal proceedings are underway because Infantino met secretly several times shortly after taking office with the Swiss chief prosecutor at the time, Michael Lauber, who led the FIFA investigation.
The encounters in the back rooms of a luxury hotel in Bern were not recorded, and nobody supposedly remembers what happened. Lauber stumbled over the “Schweizerhof affair” and had to resign.
Platini filed a complaint against Infantino a few months ago. “Is your football career over?” asked a journalist in Bellinzona after the verdict. Platini hesitated for a long time. “I don’t know,” said the 67-year-old then, and: “I’m still so young.” Blatter was 79 when he was re-elected FIFA President in 2015.