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Governing Bodies

Swiss prosecutors appeal against acquittals of Blatter, Platini

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Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter speaks to the media after a trial at the Swiss Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, Switzerland July 8, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

Swiss federal prosecutors have filed an appeal to overturn the acquittals of former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and France footballing great Michel Platini on corruption charges, they said on Thursday.

Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court had cleared the two in July after a seven-year investigation in which both were booted out of the sport.

Former UEFA President Michel Platini speaks to the media after a trial at the Swiss Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, Switzerland July 8, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

A judge said the pair’s account of a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ for FIFA to pay Platini 2 million Swiss francs ($1.99 million)for consulting work was credible, and serious doubts existed about the prosecution’s allegation that it was a fraudulent payment.

Prosecutors had said at the time they would examine the written verdict before deciding whether to appeal against the two, who were once among the most powerful figures in global soccer and had denied wrongdoing.

“We confirm that the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has filed an appeal with the Appeals Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court within the statutory time limit … and has requested that the first-instance judgment be set aside in its entirety,” the OAG said, confirming a report in the Neue Zuercher Zeitung newspaper.

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-Reuters

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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