Federal prosecutors in Switzerland have ended a decade-long case against former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and former UEFA president Michel Platini.
After the duo was acquitted of fraud, forgery, mismanagement, and appropriation charges in March, the office of Switzerland’s attorney general said Thursday that it would not appeal against the decisions.
The trial, which took place in 2022, accused Blatter and Platini of misappropriating a $2 million-plus payment in 2011. Prosecutors alleged that Blatter and FIFA sent the funds illegally to Platini, which, paired with Blatter’s arrest in 2015 during a US-led raid delving into rackateering and bribery, ultimately led to their removals in office.
Gianni Infantino and Aleksander Ceferin took over FIFA and UEFA respectively in 2016 and still hold those positions.
Blatter and Platini claimed that the payment stemmed from a gentelen’s agreement from 1998, when Blatter tried to bring on Platini to act as his personal advisor, but claimed FIFA could not afford his full salary request.
While Platini wanted asked for approximately $1.2 million per year, the two agreed on a discounted rate of approximately $378,000 per year, with the difference to be paid at a later date.
