Sepp Blatter

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter told the opening day of his criminal trial that he was troubled by chest pains and unable to testify; Blatter was due to ...

Blatter and Platini each face up to five years in prison, but suspended sentences are a likely option. Both Blatter and Platini have long denied wrongdoing and claim they had a verbal deal in 1998 for the money. "Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely," Blatter said. "Is soccer by my side? Blatter's 17-year reign as FIFA president came to an end in June 2015, when he resigned amid a corruption scandal. "I'm not well.

Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, once the chiefs of world and European football, appeared in a Swiss court on Wednesday to face trial over a suspected ...

Both are accused of fraud and forgery of a document. They signed a contract in 1999 for an annual remuneration of 300,000 Swiss francs. "With Blatter's involvement, FIFA made a payment to Platini in the said amount at the beginning of 2011. The former France captain "demanded a payment in the amount of two million francs", the OAG alleges. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG), which brought the indictment, says this amount was invoiced by Platini and paid in full by FIFA. The pair are being tried over a two million Swiss franc ($2.08 million) payment in 2011 to Platini, who was then in charge of European football's governing body UEFA.

Blatter, along with former protégé and French footballing legend Michel Platini, appeared in Swiss Federal Criminal Court yesterday where they are facing ...

Instead, Platini's former general secretary at UEFA, Gianni Infantino, entered the FIFA race and won the election in 2016. In a statement to AFP news agency, Platini said: 'It is outstanding salary, owed by FIFA, under oral contract and paid under conditions of the most perfect legality. He also lost his appeal at the European Court of Human Rights. 'With Blatter's involvement, FIFA made a payment to Platini in said amount at the beginning of 2011. When Blatter approved the payment, he was campaigning for re-election against Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar. I acted, as in all my life and career, with the utmost honesty.' 'The matter was correctly declared as a salary payment, accounted for accordingly and approved by all the relevant bodies of FIFA.' The United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has also investigated corruption in the game. 'I am convinced that justice will be fully and definitively done to me after so many years of wild accusations and slander,' he said in statement before the trial began. He remained in the role for 17 years. Three judges will hear the case in the trial which runs until June 22. Platini was forced to quit UEFA in 2016.

Platini was sent a payment of 2m Swiss francs by Fifa in 2011 but Blatter said the money was part of a 'gentleman's agreement' between the pair.

He sent Fifa a claim for CHF 2m in January 2011 and was paid 10 days later after the invoice was approved by Blatter, he said. The 86-year-old said he had asked Platini to be his adviser after the Swiss official was elected Fifa president for the first time in 1998. He decided to claim the money after hearing that two former Fifa employees had received substantial payments. He said he trusted Blatter and believed he would be paid in full eventually. Sealed with a handshake, Blatter said the arrangement was a “gentleman’s agreement”. Blatter and Platini both deny the charges.

The former FIFA and UEFA presidents were questioned on the second day of their criminal trial on charges of defrauding FIFA.

“I was in shock (when we were first questioned) and that shock has lasted seven years. I was convinced that the salary was 500,000 and I realized when the prosecutor showed me the contract. I wouldn’t get into a deal with the president without trusting him,” Platini said. The 66-year-old Platini was asked why he waited until 2011 to send FIFA an invoice for the money allegedly owed. “When I was elected FIFA president, we had a bad balance. I didn’t give him a precise time when he would get it,” Blatter said.

Swiss prosecutors accuse former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and football legend Michel Platini of illegally arranging the 2 million Swiss franc payment in ...

Platini said he contacted FIFA and was informed the organization did owe him money and should send an invoice. Blatter described the organization as “broke.” Blatter and Platini both deny the charges. Platini said the affair was a deliberate attempt to thwart his attempt to become FIFA President in 2015. “I knew when we started with Michel Platini that is not the total, and we would look at it later,” Blatter said referring to the agreed 300,000 francs salary for the job of technical consultant. The 86-year-old said he had asked Platini to be his adviser after the Swiss official was elected FIFA president for the first time in 1998.

Sepp Blatter denies approving fraudulent payments to Michel Platini, telling a Swiss court that a cash transfer followed a 'gentleman's agreement.'

“It was an agreement between two sportsmen,” Blatter said. Platini asked to be paid one million francs per year but Blatter told the Frenchman that FIFA could not afford such a salary. Swiss prosecutors accuse Blatter and Platini, once among football’s most powerful figures, of illegally arranging a two million Swiss franc ($2.04 million) payment in 2011.

Frail-looking Blatter, who is being prosecuted alongside French soccer legend Michel Platini, was due to defend himself in Bellinzona, Switzerland.

I know I have not done anything against the law.” Blatter, accompanied by daughter Corinne, 34, said: “I am absolutely confident... Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.

Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini strongly reiterated their innocence as the two former soccer leaders were questioned on day two of their criminal trial on ...

Platini’s lawyer, Dominic Nellen, attempted to show in court the prosecution office had colluded with soccer officials, and that this helped Gianni Infantino become FIFA president in 2016. “I was in shock (when we were first questioned) and that shock has lasted seven years. Blatter and Platini each face up to five years in prison, but suspended sentences are a likely option. I was convinced the salary was 500,000 (Swiss francs) and I realised when the prosecutor showed me the contract. The 66-year-old Platini was asked why he waited until 2011 to send FIFA an invoice for the money allegedly owed. “Just so that I wouldn’t become president. I wouldn’t get into a deal with the president without trusting him,” Platini said. That defense first failed with judges at the FIFA ethics committee, which banned them from soccer, and later in separate appeals at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. “I have already been punished for seven years. I didn’t give him a precise time when he would get it,” Blatter said. I’m not going to ask for money from someone who owes me. Blatter’s 17-year reign as president came to an end in June 2015, when he resigned amid a corruption scandal.