Soccer-Ex-FIFA chief Blatter states his innocence on court return over fraud case

By John Revill

MUTTENZ, Switzerland(Reuters) -Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he was innocent when he appeared in a Swiss court on Monday alongside France soccer great Michel Platini, 2-1/2 years after they were both cleared of fraud.

Blatter and Platini were acquitted in 2022 at a lower Swiss court following a seven-year investigation into a payment of 2 million Swiss francs ($2.22 million) to Platini.

The Swiss federal prosecutor has appealed against that decision, leading to a new hearing at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in Muttenz, near Basel.

The prosecutor asked for the judgment be set aside in full.

Blatter told the court on Monday 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 world soccer's ruling body to pay the Frenchman, who was president of the sport's European governing body UEFA at the time.

"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 wrecked Platini's hopes of eventually succeeding Blatter, who resigned from FIFA in 2015 following a separate corruption scandal.

Blatter and Platini were suspended from football in 2015 by FIFA for ethics breaches, originally for eight years, although their exclusions were later reduced.

The pair were cleared in the 2022 case after a judge accepted that their account of a "gentlemen's agreement" for the payment was credible. The judge also said serious doubts existed about the prosecution's allegation that it was fraudulent.

The Swiss federal prosecutor is seeking a sentence of 20 months, suspended for two years, against Blatter and Platini, the former France soccer captain and manager.

'WITCH HUNT'

Blatter, who was FIFA president for 17 years until 2015, said before the hearing that he felt he was the subject 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, three times European Footballer of the Year, is also confident of being acquitted, the 69-year-old's 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 on March 25.

($1 = 0.9002 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Ken Ferris and Angus MacSwan)