Swiss prosecutors decline appeal against ex-football supremos

Waiver of appeal against acquittal for Blatter and Platini Keystone-SDA

Swiss prosecutors have opted not to appeal the acquittal of former football officials Joseph Blatter and Michel Platini on charges of corruption.

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The acquittal for fraud, embezzlement, mismanagement and falsification of documents is therefore final.

By accepting the judgement handed down by both the first and second instance, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) announced on Thursday that a further chapter in the football investigation had been closed.

Former FIFA boss Blatter and former UEFA head Platini were acquitted of the charges in the second instance in March 2025 by an extraordinary Swiss appeals chamber in accordance with the principle of “in dubio pro reo” (in case of doubt for the accused).

Following earlier acquittals at the Federal Criminal Court in 2022, the OAG had lodged an appeal.

The accusation centred on a payment of CHF2 million to Platini for his consultancy work for the world football association. This was based, among other things, on an oral contract with Blatter.

Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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