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Tag: Blatter

  • FIFA fraud: Blatter, Platini acquitted by Swiss court

    FIFA fraud: Blatter, Platini acquitted by Swiss court

    Former FIFA president Joseph Blatter and former UEFA president Michel Platini were on Friday acquitted by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court in a FIFA fraud trial.

    The two ex-football officials had been charged by federal prosecutors in Switzerland with defrauding FIFA in connection with a payment of two million Swiss francs (2.07 million dollars) Platini received.

    The Frenchman had received the money from FIFA in 2011 for work done as a consultant between 1998 and 2002.

    Switzerland’s Blatter, 86, presided over the world governing football body from 1998 to 2015.

    The Swiss probe started in 2015 after a search at the FIFA headquarters on general corruption suspicion.

    Platini was originally only listed as a witness.

    The prosecution had wanted a suspended sentence of one year eight months for both men.

    Platini was also to be fined some 2.2 million Swiss francs, the original payment plus social security taxes FIFA also paid.

    Blatter and Platini had protested their innocence, with FIFA not in a financial position at the time to fully pay the Frenchman Platini who for his part spoke of a fabricated case.

    Blatter, who had said the two had a verbal agreement for the payment, said shortly ahead of the verdict he expected to be found not guilty.

    “I expect nothing else but an acquittal. I am not innocent in my life but I am innocent in this case,” he said before entering the Bellinzona court house.

    Platini had spoken of a politically-motivated case which ended his ambition to take over from Blatter as FIFA president, a position now held by former UEFA secretary general Gianni Infantino.

    Both men were banned from football by the FIFA ethics committee, and their careers were over even though the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) later reduced the bans.

    Platini, 67, said in a statement distributed by his lawyer that “my fight is a fight against injustice. I have won a first game.”

    “The truth has come to light in this trial,” he said, vowing “we will meet again”.

    He added that he would “go all the way in my quest for the truth” because “there are culprits who did not appear during this trial.”

  • FIFA sues Blatter, Platini to recover £1.56m

    World soccer body FIFA on Monday filed claims in Swiss court seeking to recover 2 million Swiss francs (£1.56 million) that it said were paid inappropriately by ex-FIFA President Joseph Blatter to former French football star Michel Platini.

    “FIFA has today filed claims in the relevant Swiss courts against former FIFA President Joseph Blatter and former FIFA Vice-President Michel Platini, seeking restitution of the 2 million francs unduly paid to Mr. Platini back in February 2011,” FIFA said, adding it was “duty-bound to try to recover the funds illicitly paid by one former official to another.”

    Blatter and Platini, who could not immediately be reached for comment, have maintained they did nothing wrong amid what became part of the biggest corruption scandal to shake the world soccer body, resulting in numerous prosecutions and convictions in the United States.

    Blatter and Platini were both banned from soccer in late 2015 over a payment of 2 million Swiss francs made to the Frenchman by FIFA with Blatter’s approval in 2011 for work he had done a decade earlier.

    Platini, the head of European soccer body UEFA from 2007 to 2015, was originally banned from all soccer-related activities for eight years, though the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) later reduced the suspension to four years. His ban ended this year.

    Blatter’s ban was reduced from eight years to six, a period later upheld by CAS in a decision that concluded the now-83-year-old had “breached the FIFA Code of Ethics since the payment amounted to an undue gift as it had no contractual basis.”

  • Former FIFA chief Blatter against video evidence at World Cup

    Former FIFA chief Blatter against video evidence at World Cup

    Former FIFA President Joseph Blatter has spoken out against using video evidence at Russia 2018 World Cup as teething problems continue to trail trials in countries such as Germany.

    “You cannot use the World Cup as a guinea pig for such a serious intervention in the game,’’ Blatter said in an interview with Wednesday’s Sport Bild magazine.

    Blatter, 81, was banned from football for eight years in 2015 by the FIFA ethics committee over a “disloyal payment” of 2 million Swiss francs (2.07 million dollars).

    The payment was made to former European football chief Michel Platini.

    The FIFA appeals committee later reduced the suspension to six years, while Platini is serving a four-year ban.

    Blatter’s administration was sceptical of technological innovations during his 17 years as president of the world governing body.

    But he finally advocated goalline technology for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil after refereeing errors four years earlier in South Africa.

    “It would be wrong to use video evidence in Russia, it is too immature and many countries still use it differently,’’ Blatter said.

     

  • Infantino is disrespectful – Blatter

    Infantino is disrespectful – Blatter

    Former FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, has slated his successor, Gianni Infantino of showing him lack of respect.

    The 80-year-old Blatter on Monday lost his appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, over a six year ban from football for a two million Swiss franc ($2 million/1.8 million euro) payment he made to then UEFA boss, Michel Platini.

    He expresses his displeasure with Infantino, saying he has not respected him as someone who was in that post before him.

    Blatter told the BBC, “I am definitely not a happy man (with) what happened with FIFA.

    “I have never seen in any company that the new president… was not paying respect to the old president.
    “After his election we had a very good contact and he stopped at my house and we had a chat. I told him I have a list of questions that should be solved in FIFA which has not been solved before.

    “(Infantino) said ‘I will work on that’ and he never came back.”

    Blatter expressed disappointed that Infantino, who was UEFA secretary-general under Platini, had not returned his phone calls since that meeting.

    “I have asked him, I have sent him a letter and I have his personal number and I was told that it’s still correct. Never never an answer – never,” said Blatter.

    The Swiss served as FIFA president for 18 years but was a subject to withering criticism during his tenure.