Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and former Uefa president Michel Platini will go on trial in Switzerland in June to face corruption charges. The Swiss prosecutors say Blatter illegally arranged a transfer of 2m Swiss francs (£1.6m) to Platini in 2011. Blatter and Platini who were indicted in November – have both previously denied all the accusations.
Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini to Face Court over Corruption Charges
If found guilty, they could receive prison sentences or fines. The case was opened in September 2015 after Fifa, football’s world governing body Fifa was dogged by accusations of widespread corruption. Fifa’s ethics committee launched an investigation which made them place a ban on the men, they were banned from the game and forced to leave their positions as well.
The Swiss case centers on a request for payment for advisory work Platini did for the then-Fifa president Sepp Blatter, 86, between 1998 and 2002. Prosecutors said Platini, 66, demanded the payment “over eight years after the termination of his advisory activity”. “With Blatter’s involvement, Fifa made a payment to Platini in a said amount at the beginning of 2011,” prosecutors had earlier said.
Blatter and Platini are charged with many criminal charges ranging from fraud, embezzlement, and “unfaithful business management” to forgery of documents. The trial will start on 8 June.