{"id":20862,"date":"2022-06-09T14:44:53","date_gmt":"2022-06-09T14:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/ex-fifa-chief-blatter-too-ill-to-testify-at-fraud-trial"},"modified":"2022-06-09T14:54:10","modified_gmt":"2022-06-09T14:54:10","slug":"ex-fifa-chief-blatter-too-ill-to-testify-at-fraud-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/ex-fifa-chief-blatter-too-ill-to-testify-at-fraud-trial","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Fifa chief Blatter too ill to testify at fraud trial"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Mozambique. <\/strong><\/span>The trial of former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and French footballing legend Michel Platini over alleged corrupt payments ground to a halt on Wednesday when Blatter said he was too ill to testify.<\/p>\n

Swiss prosecutors accuse the pair, once among football\u2019s most powerful figures, of unlawfully arranging a payment of two million Swiss francs in 2011. Blatter and Platini both deny the charges.<\/p>\n

But Blatter, looking frail during the hearing at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, said he was unable to address the court due to chest pains.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pain will come back and I am having difficulty breathing,\u201d the 85-year-old told the court in a whisper. The judges allowed him to make his testimony on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Earlier, lawyers for Blatter and Platini failed to shift the trial to a local court or dismiss Fifa\u2019s civil claim against Blatter and Platter to reclaim the two million francs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis case is being heard in the wrong stadium,\u201d Platini\u2019s lawyer Dominic Nellen told the court, saying federal prosecutions should be reserved for large, international cases.<\/p>\n

The judges dismissed the argument, and also allowed Fifa to remain involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is obvious that Fifa has been damaged,\u201d said its lawyer Catherine Hohl-Chirazi. \u201cTwo million francs was stolen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three judges will hear the trial, which runs until June 22. A verdict is due on July 8. If convicted, Platini and Blatter face up to five years in jail.<\/p>\n

Both have denied wrongdoing and say they had a verbal agreement over the payment, which related to consultancy work by Platini between 1998 and 2002.<\/p>\n

Blatter, once the most powerful figure in global football, arrived at the court walking with a stoop and holding the arm of his daughter Corinne.<\/p>\n

Before the hearing, he said was positive and in a good mood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I have not done anything against the law. My life was football, for 45 years with Fifa,\u201d he told journalists outside the court.<\/p>\n

Platini, a former Uefa President, also said he was confident, and joked he would have to improve his German so he could follow the proceedings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will prove in court that I acted with the utmost honesty, that the payment of the remaining salary was due to me by Fifa and is perfectly legal,\u201d he said in statement before the hearing.<\/p>\n

The Swiss Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has accused Blatter and Platini of \u201cfraud, in the alternative of misappropriation, in the further alternative of criminal mismanagement as well as of forgery of a document.<\/p>\n

Platini, the former Uefa president who as a player captained France to victory in the 1984 European Championship, was also charged as an accomplice.<\/p>\n

Blatter and Platini, 66, were both banned in 2016 from soccer for six years over the payment, made with Blatter\u2019s approval for work done a decade earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am convinced that justice will be fully and definitively done to me after so many years of wild accusations and slander,\u201d he said in statement before the trial began.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will prove in court that I acted with the utmost honesty, that the payment of the remaining salary was due to me by Fifa and is perfectly legal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Swiss Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has accused Blatter and Platini of \u201cfraud, in the alternative of misappropriation, in the further alternative of criminal mismanagement as well as of forgery of a document.<\/p>\n

Platini, the former Uefa president who as a player captained France to victory in the 1984 European Championship, was also charged as an accomplice.<\/p>\n

Blatter, 85, and Platini, 66, were both banned in 2016 from football for six years over the payment, made with Blatter\u2019s approval for work done a decade earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cFifa has brought a civil action against both Blatter and Platini to have the money which was illegally misappropriated repaid to Fifa so it can be used for the sole purpose for which it was originally intended: football,\u201d said Fifa\u2019s lawyer Catherine Hohl-Chirazi.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Mozambique<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Mozambique. The trial of former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and French footballing legend Michel Platini over alleged corrupt payments ground to a halt on Wednesday when Blatter said he was too ill to testify. Swiss prosecutors accuse the pair, once among football\u2019s most powerful figures, of unlawfully arranging a payment of two million […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":20861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,17,16],"tags":[233,281,283],"class_list":["post-20862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-sport","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-mozambique","tag-mozambique"],"yoast_head":"\nEx-Fifa chief Blatter too ill to testify at fraud trial - Mozambique<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The trial of former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and French footballing legend Michel Platini over alleged corrupt paymen ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/ex-fifa-chief-blatter-too-ill-to-testify-at-fraud-trial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ex-Fifa chief Blatter too ill to testify at fraud trial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The trial of former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and French footballing legend Michel Platini over alleged corrupt paymen ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/ex-fifa-chief-blatter-too-ill-to-testify-at-fraud-trial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mozambique\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-09T14:44:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-09T14:54:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2022\/06\/img-62a20976b272b.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/ex-fifa-chief-blatter-too-ill-to-testify-at-fraud-trial#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/ex-fifa-chief-blatter-too-ill-to-testify-at-fraud-trial\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Ex-Fifa chief Blatter too ill to testify at fraud trial\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-09T14:44:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-09T14:54:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/ex-fifa-chief-blatter-too-ill-to-testify-at-fraud-trial\"},\"wordCount\":672,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/ex-fifa-chief-blatter-too-ill-to-testify-at-fraud-trial#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2022\/06\/img-62a20976b272b.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Mozambique\",\"Mozambique\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"homepage-english\",\"sport\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/ex-fifa-chief-blatter-too-ill-to-testify-at-fraud-trial#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/ex-fifa-chief-blatter-too-ill-to-testify-at-fraud-trial\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/ex-fifa-chief-blatter-too-ill-to-testify-at-fraud-trial\",\"name\":\"Ex-Fifa chief Blatter too ill to testify at fraud trial - 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