Swiss prosecutors have appealed against the acquittal of former football bosses Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini.
This was confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Attorney General of the French news agency AFP. Accordingly, the appeals chamber of the Federal Criminal Court was timely “Requested the full annulment of the first instance judgment” been said.
Former FIFA President Blatter and former UEFA boss Platini were acquitted in court in early July after years of investigation into a dubious payment. At the time, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court ruled that it was fraud “not proven with a probability bordering on certainty” became. Both had been charged with fraud and forgery. The Swiss Blatter was also accused of embezzlement and unfaithful business management, the French Platini for aiding and abetting.
Two million Swiss francs
Specifically, it was about two million Swiss francs (1.92 million euros) plus 229,126 francs (220,000 euros) in social security contributions. These sums flowed from FIFA to the then UEFA boss Platini in 2011, Blatter spoke of one “Gentlemen’s Agreement” for Platini’s consulting work.
Blocked for eight years at a time
In July, the public prosecutor’s office had called for a suspended sentence of one year and eight months in each case. The ex-officials protested their innocence in court. The investigation into the case led to Blatter like Platini being banned for eight years by the FIFA Ethics Committee in 2015. Although the bans were later reduced, Platini’s attempt to become Blatter’s successor at the top of FIFA failed.