The federal prosecutor began his plea in the FIFA appeal trial in Muttenz BL on Tuesday. He maintained the accusation against the two former football officials Joseph Blatter and Michel Platini of having cheated Fifa out of two million francs.
04.03.2025, 15:30
SDA
There was no evidence of a verbal agreement for this payment to Platini, said federal prosecutor Thomas Hildbrand. It was also "contrary to the record" that Platini had already started his consultancy work in 1998, for which FIFA is said to have owed him money in 2011.
Hildebrand also rejected the allegations of political motives by the Office of the Attorney General as absurd. "This fairy tale belongs in the category of conspiracy theories, which must be denied entry into the hallowed halls of the courts," said Hildbrand.
The Office of the Attorney General had accused Blatter and Platini of fraud, among other things. After the two were acquitted by the Federal Criminal Court in 2022, the Office of the Attorney General appealed. An extraordinary appeals chamber is now reopening the case.
