Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter maintained his innocence as he appeared in a Swiss court Monday alongside French football legend Michel Platini, nearly 2 1/2 years after both were cleared of fraud.
Blatter and Platini were acquitted in 2022 by a lower Swiss court following a seven-year investigation into a payment of 2 million Swiss francs ($2.22 million) to Platini.
However, the Swiss federal prosecutor has appealed the ruling, bringing the case back to court for a new hearing at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in Muttenz, near Basel. The prosecutor has asked for the judgment to be set aside in full.
Blatter told the court Monday that he was not guilty of fraud.
"When you talk about falsehoods, lies and deception, that's not me. That didn't exist in my whole life," he said.
"We had principles in my family – we take only money we have earned," he added. "I am innocent."
The 2022 indictment accused Blatter and Platini of deceiving FIFA staff in 2010 and 2011 about an obligation for the world football governing body to pay Platini, who was then president of UEFA, Europe's governing body.
"They falsely claimed that FIFA owed Platini, or that Platini was entitled to, the sum of 2 million Swiss francs for advisory work. This deception was achieved through repeated untruthful claims made by both accused parties," the indictment said.
The case derailed Platini's hopes of succeeding Blatter, who resigned from FIFA in 2015 amid a separate corruption scandal.
Blatter and Platini were suspended from football in 2015 by FIFA for ethics breaches, originally for eight years, though their bans were later reduced.
The pair were cleared in the 2022 case after a judge ruled that their account of a "gentlemen's agreement" for the payment was credible. The judge also said there were serious doubts about the prosecution’s claim that the payment was fraudulent.
The Swiss federal prosecutor is seeking a 20-month suspended sentence for Blatter and Platini, the former France captain and manager.
Blatter, who was FIFA president for 17 years, said before the hearing that he felt he was the target of a witch hunt.
"I am very positive," the frail-looking 88-year-old told reporters outside the court before the start of proceedings.
"Today is a very sunny day, and I'm going into this with positive energy."
Platini, a three-time European Footballer of the Year, is also confident of being acquitted, his lawyer said.
"The court of first instance was right to find that the disputed payment of 2 million francs was lawful," Platini's lawyer, Dominic Nellen, said.
A verdict is expected March 25.
