The Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s Office has announced its intention to appeal the acquittal of Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini on July 8 by the Federal Criminal Court of Bellinzona on the charge of fraud. The Public Ministry of the Confederation (MPC), confirmed to AFP by email that it had announced on Friday July 15 its intention to challenge the acquittal of the French football legend who led UEFA before the outbreak of the affair and of the man who has long been the emblematic president of FIFA.
“This is not a preliminary decision. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office will rely on the written reasons for the court’s decision to decide on the way forward, ”underlines the email, specifying that the prosecution will not give additional information at this time. Written reasons for the decision of the Federal Criminal Court may take some time.
“Guilty who have not appeared”
The 67-year-old Frenchman and the 86-year-old Swiss had appeared in June over a controversial payment of 2 million Swiss francs (1.8 million euros) made by FIFA to Michel Platini. The ex-captain of the Blues, had estimated on leaving the court on July 8, to have “won a first match”, while alluding once again to a politico-judicial manipulation intended to remove him from power: “In this case, there are culprits who did not appear during this trial. Let them count on me, we will meet again”.
Michel Platini suspects in particular a hidden role of Gianni Infantino, his former right-hand man at UEFA elected in 2016 at the head of FIFA, and targeted since 2020 by a separate procedure for three secret meetings with the former head of the Swiss prosecution. .