ZURICH: French footballing great Michel Platini was accused of fraud to torpedo his chances of becoming the head of world soccer’s governing body FIFA, his lawyer told a Swiss court on Wednesday. Platini, a former captain and manager of the French national team who also used to run Europe’s football authority UEFA, is facing corruption charges in an appeal against his acquittal two-and-a-half years ago. The Swiss federal prosecutor says the 69-year-old illegally took payment of 2 million Swiss francs ($2.25 million) from FIFA in 2011, after it was approved by the organization’s former President Sepp Blatter. Blatter is also accused of fraud in the hearing at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in the municipality of Muttenz near the city of Basel. Blatter and Platini, once among the most powerful men in global football, both deny the charges and were acquitted by a lower court in July 2022, which prosecutors are contesting. “These criminal proceedings never had the goal of punishing an alleged crime. Rather, it was a means of getting Michel Platini out of the way,” his lawyer Dominic Nellen said. The investigation into the payments wrecked Platini’s hopes of succeeding Blatter. Blatter and Platini were suspended from football in 2015 by FIFA for ethics breaches, originally for eight years, although their exclusions were later reduced. Nellen said the prosecutors had allowed themselves to be used by FIFA to prevent Platini, a three-time European footballer of the year, from taking the reins. When he was questioned by prosecutors in September 2015 about the payment, details were announced to media even though no charges were made, Nellen said.
