Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and ex-UEFA chief Michel Platini have been acquitted of corruption charges for a second time by the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in Muttenz, near Basel.
The ruling, delivered on Tuesday, comes more than two years after their initial acquittal in July 2022. The case centered on a controversial payment of 2 million Swiss francs (£1.6 million) made to Platini in 2011 while he was UEFA president.
Swiss federal prosecutors had challenged the first acquittal, seeking a suspended 20-month sentence for both men. However, the court upheld the previous decision, clearing Blatter and Platini of fraud and mismanagement charges.
The scandal, which erupted in 2015, effectively ended their careers in football, with both men receiving bans from the sport. Platini’s aspirations of succeeding Blatter as FIFA president were also dashed.
Despite their legal victory, the verdict may not fully restore their reputations in the football world.
