Former President of UEFA, Michel Platini, has gotten into fresh troubles as he is currently in Switzerland to answer questions related to the $2 million payment he received from FIFA in 2011.
The 65-year-old former captain of France national team arrived in Switzerland on Monday morning to attend to Swiss prosecutor that has resurrected Platini’s criminal records and that of his former boss, Sepp Blatter, former president of FIFA.
The Associated Press reported that Michel Platini had to be invited to Switzerland by the Swiss Federal prosecutor because he is suspected to be an accomplice to criminal mismanagement and misappropriation, as well as an act of forgery.
The alleged $2 million payment from FIFA in 2011 made Michel Platini lose his post as the president of UEFA in 2015 and also led him to lose the opportunity of contesting for the post of FIFA president that same year.
It was also the same payment that contributed to the removal of 84-year-old Sepp Blatter from office as FIFA president. The allegation coupled with other criminal allegations forced the FIFA ethics committee to ban both of them from football.
Blatter was slammed with 6 years ban while Platini was slammed with 4 years ban. That of the former FIFA president will expire in October 2021 while that of the former UEFA president has already expired in October 2019.
According to AP, Platini was already looking forward to returning to football administration and has boasted in 2018 that all the criminal allegations leveled against him have been cleared. Unfortunately for the three-time Ballon d’Or winner, he would have to put that plan on hold until he is cleared of this resurrected $2 million payment saga.
How Michel Platini received $2 million payment from FIFA
According to AP, Michel Platini claimed that he served as Sepp Blatter’s adviser from 1998-2002 which was Blatter’s first term in office as FIFA president. Hence, he submitted invoices in January 2011 urging FIFA to pay him for the work done.
Blatter who was the president of FIFA then authorized the $2 million payment which contributed to their being ousted in 2015. Still, the duo claimed that they did nothing wrong.
Swiss prosecutor abandoned the case after the FIFA ethics committee banned the two football administrators. Unfortunately for Platini, another Swiss prosecutor, Thomas Hildebrand, revived the case including other criminal cases linked to FIFA.
Just like Platini, Blatter is expected in Switzerland on Tuesday, September 1, 2020, to also answer some questions which is not connected to the $2 million payment to Platini alone.
Other people under investigation
Current FIFA president Gianni Infantino is still under investigation by a special Swiss prosecutor. His meeting with the then-attorney general, Michael Lauber, is seen as being illegal.
Though the then-attorney general and the current FIFA president have argued that they did nothing wrong for having an unscheduled meeting, Lauber has resigned his position and has left the office today, Monday, August 31, 2020.
His resignation is to give the special investigator enough room to do a thorough job even though the FIFA ethics committee failed to suspend Infantino as earlier expected.
