Former Fifa boss Sepp Blatter says he is victim of a witch-hunt ahead of new court hearing

ZURICH – Sepp Blatter, the former head of football’s global governing body Fifa, is looking forward to clearing his name at a new court hearing into allegations he made corrupt payments to French footballing great Michel Platini.

Blatter, who was president of Fifa from 1998 to 2015, said on Feb 25 he was innocent and the victim of a witch-hunt ahead of the appeals hearing which starts on March 3.

The 88-year-old is due to appear in court in Switzerland alongside former France captain and coach Platini, once seen as his eventual successor at the top of world football.

Both were cleared in 2022 at a lower Swiss court following a seven-year investigation into a payment of 2 million Swiss francs (S$3 million), a decision contested by Swiss prosecutors.

“The Federal Criminal Court in 2022 said the contract between Platini and me was correct, and I expect the new court will confirm this first decision,” Blatter said, adding the upcoming appeal was “absolute nonsense”.

“It’s a witch-hunt against me, it feels like a vendetta. I am completely confident I will be cleared, I am an honest man.”

The case goes back to a payment Fifa made to Platini when he was boss of European football’s governing body Uefa in 2011, with Blatter’s approval, for work done around 10 years earlier.

In the 2022 case, a judge said the pair’s account of a “gentlemen’s agreement” for Fifa to pay Platini 2 million Swiss francs for consulting work between 1998 and 2002 was credible, and that serious doubts existed about the prosecution’s allegation that it was a fraudulent payment.

“The payment was made based on a contract and the first court agreed,” said Blatter. “It was correctly implemented and there was no bribery in any way.”

Platini also denies the fraud charges “100 per cent”, said his lawyer Dominic Nellen.

The 69-year-old Frenchman was also confident he would be cleared again, Nellen added.

As a result of the investigation, Blatter and Platini both lost their jobs and were banned from the sport for several years.

In the upcoming Swiss hearing, federal prosecutors are seeking sentences of 20 months against both Blatter and Platini, suspended for two years. A verdict is expected on March 25.

Blatter also shared his view that England should have won the hosting rights for the World Cup before the next free date in 2038 and before Saudi Arabia, the hosts of the 2034 edition.

“England has done a great job for the game of football and they should be rewarded,” he said.

“They have tried since 1966 to get the World Cup back and it’s a shame they didn’t get it. They should have had it before Saudi Arabia, but it was organised in a very clever way so nobody was in opposition.”

Fifa awarded the 2034 tournament to Saudi Arabia in an uncontested process in December, which also saw Spain, Portugal and Morocco chosen as the main hosts for the 2030 tournament, combined with one-off matches in South America.

This left 2038 as the next available date for England to host its second World Cup, after winning the tournament at home in 1966. REUTERS, AFP