MOSCOW, 8 Jul. Former presidents of the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the European Union of Football Associations (UEFA) Josef Blatter and Michel Platini were acquitted of corruption charges, Agence France-Presse reports, citing a court decision in Switzerland. The trial against Blatter and Platini on charges in corruption, fraud, maladministration, breach of trust and forgery of securities began on 8 June. On Friday, the court ruled. «Michelle Platini and Sepp Blatter were acquitted in Switzerland,» the agency reports. According to Swiss law, Blatter and Platini faced up to five years in prison or a large fine. In the fall of 2015, the Swiss Federal Bureau of Justice opened a case against Blatter, who was in charge of FIFA at that time, on suspicion of illegally transferring funds to Platini's accounts. He was also accused of selling TV rights to the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) to show the 2010 and 2014 World Cups for $600,000. This was well below market value. Blatter was temporarily suspended from work. On December 21, 2015, the FIFA Ethics Committee Arbitration Chamber suspended the Swiss for eight years. On February 24, 2016, the Organization's Appeals Committee reduced the term to six years. Platini headed UEFA from 2007 to 2015. He was removed from his post in connection with an investigation into corruption in FIFA. The arbitration chamber of the FIFA ethics committee in December 2015 suspended the functionary from football for eight years. The term was later reduced to four years.
