Muttenz: Former football executives Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini returned to court in Switzerland on Monday for a fresh trial on charges of fraud, forgery, and misappropriation. The case involves a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.21 million) payment made to Michel Platini, which surfaced during the 2015 FIFA corruption scandal when US investigators and Swiss authorities took action against football officials.

According to Anadolu Agency, FIFA is seeking reimbursement of the payment, along with 229,000 Swiss francs ($253,000) in social charges and interest. Platini has stated that he reported the payment as income and paid the necessary taxes. This retrial comes nearly three years after both Blatter and Platini were acquitted by a panel of three federal judges in July 2022, following an 11-day trial. However, prosecutors and FIFA appealed the decision, leading to the current retrial.

The trial, which began Monday, is being conducted in German by three judges from different regions in a Swiss state court acting as a federal tribunal. Notably, FIFA did not attend the trial, prompting Platini’s lawyer, Dominic Nellen, to urge the judges to dismiss FIFA’s appeal and civil claim. Federal prosecutors argue that the payment damaged FIFA’s assets and unlawfully enriched Platini.

Blatter and Platini maintain their innocence, claiming they had a verbal agreement for Platini’s delayed payment for advising Blatter between 1998 and 2002, despite the lack of a written contract. Prosecutors are seeking 20-month jail sentences, suspended for two years. The fresh four-day trial is expected to conclude on Thursday, with a verdict anticipated on March 25.

Both Blatter and Platini have been out of football since FIFA’s ethics committee suspended them in 2015. Platini’s ban ended in 2019, while Blatter’s extended ban, linked to accusations of awarding himself large bonuses for organizing the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, keeps him out of football until 2028, when he will be 92.