The public prosecutor is requesting that Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini be suspended

 

Swiss prosecutors on Wednesday requested 20 months in prison for Michel Platini and ex-FIFA President Sepp Blatter, accusing them of fraud. Blatter and Platini are on trial over a payment of two million Swiss francs ($2 million) in 2011 to the former France captain, who was then head of European football's governing body UEFA. The prosecutor's request is milder than he could have asked for - a maximum of five years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors have accused Blatter of signing a bill for two million Swiss francs that Platini submitted to FIFA in 2011, almost nine years after he had stopped working as an adviser to Blatter.

At the start of the trial last week, Blatter said he had a "gentleman's agreement" with Platini to pay him the money.

Platini was employed by Blatter as an advisor between 1998 and 2002. They signed a contract in 1999 for an annual fee of 300,000 Swiss francs, which was paid in full by FIFA.

However, they claimed they had agreed to pay an additional 700,000 francs annually if the organization's finances permitted.

At the beginning of 2011, Platini submitted an invoice for two million Swiss francs, signed by Sepp Blatter, which was presented to Fifa as the remainder of the salary.

Prosecutor Thomas Hildebrand said in his four and a half-hour speech on Wednesday that the agreement of such a sum without a written record, without witnesses, and without a provision in the books was "against the business practice" and against Fifa customs.

He also dismissed the claim that the signed bill related to wage arrears, arguing that FIFA's finances were healthy enough in 1999 - they "would have had more than 21 million Swiss francs in reserves" and these are at 327 million in 2002 going up.

The lawsuit follows an investigation that began in 2015 and lasted six years.

The case is scheduled to run until June 22, with FIFA - a civil party in the lawsuit - and the defense both having to make their final submissions.

The Federal Criminal Court of Bellinzona will decide on July 8th.

Platini, 66, is considered one of the greatest players in world football. In the mid-1980s he won the Ballon d'Or three times, which is considered the most prestigious individual award.

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Blatter, now 86, joined FIFA in 1975 and became president of world football's governing body in 1998. Referral Link