MUTTENZ, Switzerland: The Swiss public prosecutor on Tuesday requested suspended sentences of 20 months for both Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini in an appeal against their 2022 acquittal in a corruption case.
An Extraordinary Appeal Court sitting in Muttenz near Basel, will hand down its decision on March 25 in a long-running legal saga which shattered the careers of Blatter, the former president of world football’s governing body FIFA, and Platini, ex-head of European body UEFA.
Prosecutor Thomas Hildbrand opted not to call for prison sentences for the 88-year-old Swiss and 69-year-old Frenchman.
The case began in 2015 when Blatter quit as head of FIFA in a corruption crisis. It stems from a delayed payment of two million Swiss francs (1.8 million euros) FIFA paid Platini in 2011 for consultancy services.
The pair were acquitted by the Swiss Federal Court in June 2022 of charges that included “disloyal management,” “breach of trust” and “forgery of securities.”
The court concluded that fraud was “not established with a likelihood bordering on certainty,” and therefore applied the general principle of criminal law according to which “the doubt must benefit the accused.”
The Swiss Attorney General’s office appealed.
In his three-and-a-half-hour argument on Tuesday, Hildbrand set out to dispel the defendants’ assertion that they had an “oral contract” to pay Platini in 2011 for work as a consultant between 1998 and 2002.
In 2011, Platini opted not to run against Blatter, who was then reelected as FIFA president.
Blatter and Platini had signed a written agreement in August 1999, before the Frenchman became UEFA president, providing for an annual payment by FIFA of 300,000 Swiss francs for consultancy work.
At the beginning of 2011, Platini presented an invoice for 2 million Swiss francs. Blatter approved it and presented it to FIFA as a late salary balance.
The defendants say they had agreed a yearly sum of one million Swiss francs but that this was too much for FIFA finances at the time.
Hildbrand said the argument was implausible. Even if FIFA had transferred one million Swiss francs to Platini in 1999, it would still have had “more than 21 million francs in cash,” and its reserves had reached 328 million in 2002.
To agree such a sum without a written record, without witnesses and without ever making provision for it in the accounts was, he said, “contrary to commercial practice” as well as to FIFA’s norms.
The appeal trial, which began on Monday, is due to continue until Thursday at the latest, with closing arguments from the defense.
Although FIFA, the civil party, has joined the public prosecutor’s appeal, it is not represented in Muttenz.
Swiss prosecutors seek suspended sentences for Blatter and Platini
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Swiss prosecutors seek suspended sentences for Blatter and Platini
- An Extraordinary Appeal Court sitting in Muttenz near Basel, will hand down its decision on March 25 in a long-running legal saga
- Prosecutor Thomas Hildbrand opted not to call for prison sentences for the 88-year-old Swiss and 69-year-old Frenchman
Barcelona pounces on Real Madrid stumble and regains lead of La Liga with a 3-0 win over Levante
- Barcelona moved one point ahead of Madrid, which had won eight in a row in the league before losing to Osasuna
MADRID: Barcelona took advantage of Real Madrid’s stumble and regained the Spanish league lead with a comfortable 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Levante on Sunday.
Marc Bernal, Frenkie de Jong and Fermín López scored a goal each as Barcelona ended a two-game losing streak to get back in front of rival Madrid, which lost 2-1 at Osasuna on Saturday.
Barcelona moved one point ahead of Madrid, which had won eight in a row in the league before losing to Osasuna.
Barcelona was coming off a 2-1 loss to Girona in the league and a 4-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals.
“It was important to win and earn three points again,” Barcelona defender João Cancelo said. “Soccer gives you these opportunities to rebound and that’s what we did today, playing well again after two bad games.”
Barcelona had earned a clean sheet only once in its previous six games in all competitions.
Good start for Barcelona
Bernal scored from close range four minutes into the match at the Camp Nou Stadium. The 18-year-old Bernal had scored his first goal with the first team two rounds ago in a win over Mallorca.
“They had an early chance but my goal helped us settle and gain some confidence,” Bernal said.
De Jong added to the lead from inside the area in the 32nd and López sealed the victory with a beautiful long-range shot in the 81st, with the ball ricocheting off the post before going into the net.
Levante’s Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan kept Barcelona from adding the fourth with a pair of outstanding saves in a row in the final minutes, first off a header by Raphinha and then off a point-blank strike from López on the rebound.
It was the fourth straight defeat for Levante, which sits in 19th place. It is one point ahead of last-place Oviedo, which has a game in hand.
Levante has only one victory in its last eight matches.
Pedri entered the match in the 66th to make his return to action after an injury layoff.
Other results
Sevilla won 1-0 at 10-man Getafe for its second win in its last 10 matches in all competitions.
Djibril Sow scored a 64th-minute winner for the visitors. Getafe played a man down from the 26th after a straight red card for Djene Dakonam.
The result left Sevilla in 11th place, immediately above Getafe.
Third-place Villarreal, Barcelona’s next league opponent, can restore a three-point gap to fourth-place Atletico Madrid if it beats Valencia at home later Sunday. Atletico beat Espanyol 4-2 at home on Saturday.
