The lawyer of the Swiss Joseph Blatter, the former president of the International Football Association (FIFA), has called for his client to be acquitted in the fraud case that witnesses the trial of Blatter and the French former president of the European Union (UEFA) Michel Platini.
Blatter and Platini are on trial at the Swiss Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, where they face accusations, including fraud against FIFA, in connection with the transfer of two million Swiss francs ($2.07 million) to Platini in 2011 on the grounds that it was in exchange for consulting work he provided to FIFA between 1998 and 2002. .
Blatter and Platini had already received sanctions from FIFA and UEFA, but Blatter’s lawyer Lorenz Ernie said the money was for consulting work, and there was no other reason to transfer the money.
On Wednesday, the Swiss public prosecutor’s office had demanded a one-year and eight-month suspended prison sentence for Blatter and Platini, who maintain their innocence of any wrongdoing.
It is expected that the verdict in the case will be issued on the eighth of next July.
