Bellinzona (dpa) – There are two of the big unanswered questions in the most scandalous official world of football. Why did FIFA give Michel Platini two million Swiss francs under Joseph Blatter? And how did the Swiss criminal investigators find out about the dubious payment?
Blatter (86) and Platini (66) have long since lost their position as the most powerful men in world football – it is now eagerly awaited whether all the backgrounds can also be disclosed in the trial against the former friends before the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona in the canton of Ticino. The most important questions about the hearing, which begins on Wednesday:
What are Blatter and Platini accused of?
The charges include fraud, forgery and several other offenses. The two former top officials are accused of having deceived the world association about an allegedly outstanding claim by Platini from an advisory position for FIFA and Blatter from July 1998 to mid-2002. In 2010, a “fictitious” bill for two million Swiss francs was submitted by then-UEFA President Platini and confirmed by Blatter. The sum went from FIFA to Platini’s account in 2011, and the world association also paid 229,126 francs in social security contributions.
What do the accused say?
Platini’s defense sees the trial as the “result of a conspiracy”. One could “show in detail that the proceedings against Mr Platini were politically motivated with the aim of preventing him from becoming FIFA President,” said lawyer Dominic Nellen of the German Press Agency. The aim was to “eliminate” Platini as FIFA President. The former European champion was considered the logical successor to Blatter. Instead, his former confidante Gianni Infantino rose to become the head of the world association.