A frail-looking Sepp Blatter, the former Fifa president, and ex-Uefa boss Michel Platini have arrived at court to stand trial on fraud charges following an appeal by prosecutors.
Blatter, who turns 89 next Monday, and Platini 69 were both seen smiling ahead of a fresh hearing at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in Muttenz, near Basel, into a 2 million Swiss francs (£1.76 million) payment that saw them banned from world football in the months after the game’s biggest corruption scandal.
That scandal forced Blatter to quit as Fifa president, while Platini’s plan to succeed him was wrecked by his own suspension for taking the cash.
Each was cleared of criminal charges two-and-a-half years ago over what Fifa’s ethics committee ruled in December 2015 had been a “disloyal payment” made by Blatter to his former protege shortly before he was re-elected as the most powerful man in the game in 2011.
Both have always denied any wrongdoing, including over what they say was a “gentleman’s agreement” to defer money owed to Platini for work carried out on Blatter’s campaign for election as Fifa president back in 1998.
At their 2022 trial, that account was accepted as credible by a judge, who said serious doubts existed about the prosecution’s allegation that the payment was fraudulent.
The Swiss federal prosecutor appealed the verdict, saying in a statement: “The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has filed an appeal against the first-instance judgment and submitted a statement of appeal in October 2022 requesting that the judgment be set aside in full.”
The indictment against Blatter and Platini states: “They falsely claimed that Fifa owed Platini, or that Platini was entitled to, the sum of 2 million Swiss francs for advisory work. This deception was achieved through repeated untruthful claims made by both accused parties.”
Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of 20 months, suspended for two years, against Blatter and Platini, the former France captain and manager.
Blatter, who was Fifa president for 17 years until 2015, said before the hearing that he felt he was the subject of a witch hunt.
“The Federal Criminal Court in 2022 said the contract between Platini and me was correct, and I expect the new court will confirm this first decision,” Blatter, 88, said last week, adding the upcoming appeal was “absolute nonsense”.
“I am completely confident I will be cleared, I am an honest man.”
The criminal action against Blatter has taken a major toll on his health and, in an interview with Telegraph Sport last year, he accused prosecutors of banking on him succumbing to nature before his retrial so he avoided winning again in court.
He also said: “If I would always go through all my life back [over] what was wrong, what would have been better, then I would start to put myself in situations where I would say, (lowering his voice) ‘Oh, you’re a bad boy. You are a bad boy already at school’.” He added: “Let’s say I have no regrets [about] what I have done and especially no regrets [about] what I have not done.”
Platini’s lawyer Dominic Nellen said: “The court of first instance was right to find that the disputed payment of 2 million francs was lawful.
“My client denies any criminal behaviour and is relaxed about the appeal hearing. He will also be acquitted there.”
A verdict is expected on March 25.
