The duo listened in silence as the Extraordinary Court of Appeal clerk in the town of Muttenz, near Basel, read out a decision identical to the one handed down in 2022, which had initially cleared them.
Prosecutors had requested suspended sentences of 20 months for the pair, but charges of fraud, for which they risked five years’ imprisonment, as well as disloyal management, breach of trust, and forgery of documents were all dismissed.
After almost 10 years of legal proceedings, a final appeal is still possible before the Swiss Supreme Court, but only on limited legal grounds. The prosecutor’s office said in a statement it will decide about how to further proceed.
The former France captain, and manager, Platini said he felt from the start that the purpose of the affair was to prevent him from being president of FIFA.
Blatter and Platini returned to court earlier this month on charges stemming from a delayed payment of two million Swiss francs – 1.8 million euros – FIFA made to Platini in 2011 for consultancy services.