Key dates in Blatter, Platini’s fraud trial

Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, once the chiefs of world and European football, were acquitted by a Swiss court on Friday following a trial over a suspected fraudulent payment.

Here are key dates in the FIFA scandal which led to its former president Blatter and former UEFA head Platini standing trial in Switzerland

– May 27, 2015: Swiss police, acting on a request from a New York district attorney, arrest seven FIFA leaders, including two vice presidents, in a raid on the Baur au Lac luxury hotel in Zurich. The Swiss also raid FIFA House on the outskirts of the city.

– May 29, 2015: Blatter is elected for a fifth term as FIFA president

– June 2, 2015: Blatter announces he will resign, but will remain in charge until a special congress can choose a new leader.

– September 24, 2015: Switzerland’s Attorney General opens two-fold criminal proceedings for “unfair management” and “breach of trust” against Blatter. He is suspected of making “an unfair payment” in 2011 of two million Swiss Francs (2.02 million euros at the current exchange rate) to Platini, then president of UEFA. The Frenchman, who had announced in July that he was running to succeed Blatter, is heard as a witness.

– October 8, 2015: FIFA suspends Blatter and Platini for 90 days.

– December 21, 2015: FIFA’s Ethics Committee suspends Blatter and Platini for eight years from all football-related activity.

– January 8, 2016: Platini withdraws his candidacy for the FIFA presidency.

– February 24, 2016: The two suspensions are reduced from eight to six years on appeal.

– February 26, 2016: Gianni Infantino, Platini’s righthand man at UEFA, is elected FIFA president.

– May 9, 2016: Platini’s ban is cut from six to four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

– June 3, 2016: FIFA accuses Blatter, his former number two Jerome Valcke, and former financial director Markus Kattner of sharing $80 million “in a coordinated bid for personal enrichment” in relation to contracts, bonuses and rewards over the previous five years. FIFA indicates it has passed this information to the Swiss justice.

choose the United States. The French investigation centred on alleged intervention by then French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Platini denied any wrongdoing and was released after questioning.

– November 8, 2019: Platini tells AFP he is taking action to obtain substantial back pay from UEFA for the period he was suspended, as well as a bonus and legal fees.

– December 11, 2019: FIFA announces that it is taking legal action to obtain the reimbursement of the two million Swiss Francs paid “unduly” to Platini.

– March 5, 2020: Platini loses an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights against his four-year ban.

– June 26, 2020: The criminal proceedings for the “disloyal” payment are broadened to include Platini as well as Blatter.

– September 1, 2020: Blatter is questioned by the Swiss attorney general’s office over the payment to Platini. “This is the moment when we start talking about this case, which has been going on for five years and about which I have never been asked any questions, so I am happy to be able to provide information on it,” said Blatter.

– November 27, 2020: Proceedings open against Platini and Blatter for “fraud”.

– December 22, 2020: FIFA announces it has filed a criminal complaint against Blatter with the Zurich prosecutor over its loss-making museum in Zurich. Blatter’s lawyer calls “the accusations groundless”.

– April 4, 2022: French investigative site Mediapart reports that phone taps by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office recorded Platini telling his wife in 2017 that he had received a “painting” from “Usmanov”. Mediapart said Platini was referring to oligarch Alisher Usmanov and said the wiretap was part of an investigation into Platini’s role in the 2010 votes to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia.

– June 22, 2022: Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court in the southern city of Bellinzona acquits Blatter and Platini. (AFP)