Did he and Platini cheat Fifa out of two million?
Here Blatter trots to court in Bellinzona
He turned FIFA into a billion-dollar corporation: Joseph Blatter. Together with ex-soccer player Michel Platini, he could now stumble over 2 million francs. Today the process begins in Bellinzona TI. Blick reports in the ticker.
Published: 08/06/2022 at 00:27
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Updated: 22 minutes ago
Sermin Faki and Pascal Tischhauser
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The ball used to be round, a game lasted 90 minutes and in the end the Germans won. Then the ruble rolled faster than the ball – and the two football associations Uefa and Fifa ran less and less smoothly.
Hardly anyone was surprised when the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (BA) opened criminal proceedings against the then Fifa President Joseph Blatter (86) almost seven years ago. He is said to have ordered the payment of two million francs to Uefa President Michel Platini (66) in 2011 – without there being any justification.
300,000 francs were not enough
As of today, Wednesday, ex-functionary Blatter and the former world’s best soccer player Platini will have to answer before the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona TI. The charge is fraud, Blatter could have been guilty of dishonest management, there had been forgery of documents and, at most, embezzlement.
Platini had signed a consulting contract with Blatter. As the indictment shows, he received 300,000 francs a year for his services. But in 2010 he demanded an additional payment of two million francs plus social security contributions. Blatter said yes with the reason: When the amounts were incurred, Fifa had no money to pay Platini in full, which is why a later payment was agreed.
The two have never presented any evidence of this. But even the federal prosecutor’s office does not say in the indictment what the background to the payment should have been.
How did the BA know that?
Blatter will testify in court for the first time this Wednesday, Platini on Thursday. Process observers are primarily waiting for the interrogation of Olivier Thormann (51), who is now a federal criminal judge himself, but was still head of the white-collar crime section at the federal prosecutor’s office in 2015. The accused are hoping for an answer to what is perhaps the most explosive question in the process: How did the federal prosecutor find out about the payment?
For some it is clear: Today’s Fifa President Gianni Infantino (52) or at least those around him have informed the public prosecutor’s office about the payment. This with the aim of getting rid of Platini, who at the time was running to succeed Blatter at Fifa. And to clear the way to Zurich’s Sonnenberg for Infantino.
Should that have been the game plan or not: Infantino won the match. The verdict in Bellinzona has been announced for July 8, and the accused are presumed innocent.
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