The ghosts of FIFA’s past have returned to haunt former football power brokers Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini as they once again stand trial in a Swiss court over a controversial payment that refuses to fade into history.
On March 3, 2025, Blatter, the ex-FIFA president, and Platini, his former UEFA counterpart, appeared in court to face fresh legal scrutiny over a 2 million Swiss francs ($2.2 million) payment made to Platini in 2011. The duo had been acquitted of fraud charges in July 2022 after a lengthy seven-year investigation, but Swiss federal prosecutors have pushed for a retrial, determined to see the case through.
At the heart of the dispute is the payment, allegedly made for advisory services Platini rendered between 1999 and 2002—a sum that curiously surfaced nearly a decade later. While both men insist the transaction was legitimate and based on a verbal agreement, prosecutors argue it was an illicit deal that rocked the foundations of football governance.
Blatter, now 88, and Platini, 69, defiantly maintain their innocence. “I have always acted with honesty,” Blatter told the court. Platini echoed his sentiment, insisting that he had rightfully earned the money in question.
Despite their defense, prosecutors are pushing for 20-month suspended sentences, with a verdict expected on March 25. The trial, set to conclude on March 6, will mark another chapter in a saga that has already ended both men’s careers in football’s upper echelons—dashing Platini’s hopes of succeeding Blatter as FIFA president.
For the once untouchable figures of world football, this legal battle is a stark reminder that the game’s political past is far from forgotten
