Platini files a defamation lawsuit against former FIFA officials

January 21 – Last August, Swiss prosecutors announced that they would not appeal the decision that acquitted Michel Platini of fraud charges over a CHF2 million payment he received from FIFA in 2011. This is the second time he has been acquitted.

Four months later, Platini replied. In late November he filed a complaint with the Paris Judicial Court for public defamation, and a civil suit for damages was registered on December 19, according to French newspaper L’Equipe.

Platini’s complaint is against three former FIFA executives for public statements made against him in 2015 and 2016, in interviews or press releases.

A fourth person, a member of the Swiss judiciary, was also named in the complaint.

The case against Platini (pictured right) regarding payments for work carried out for FIFA between 1998 and 2002 (payments were only made in 2011) came to light in 2015. At the time, Platini was running for FIFA president against his former mentor Sepp Blatter, who was also investigated by Swiss prosecutors over the payments.

As a result, Platini, UEFA president at the time, and also Blatter, had to withdraw from the FIFA presidential election while Swiss prosecutors conducted an investigation. Platini’s support in Europe comes from his secretary general Gianni Infantino (pictured left), who is seen as Platini’s successor and is expected to re-enter the election once the investigation is complete. The investigation progressed slowly and in June 2016 Infantino reached the top of world football, being elected FIFA president.

Platini has always maintained that there was a conspiracy against him and that he suspected it was Infantino who reported the payments to Swiss authorities whose investigation prevented his election.

Infantino himself was investigated by a Swiss court in the early years of his FIFA presidency for inappropriate approaches to Swiss prosecutors, but was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing. Interfering with the course of justice in most countries carries a prison sentence.

Last week Platini spoke out against Infantino, saying: “Gianni Infantino likes the rich and powerful – those with money. That’s his nature. He was like that when he was number two, but then he wasn’t the boss.

“With me, FIFA will be an organization that cares about football, not politics.

“I was destined to be FIFA president. All this happened because they didn’t want that.

“This suspension is a grave injustice and is ultimately political. A group of people decided to destroy me.”

Infantino was not named in the defamation lawsuit.

He is up for re-election as FIFA president in 2027. Platini is right to oppose it, although he has previously said he does not envision a return to football politics. Even though he wouldn’t hold back from sticking a knife into his former employee and because of his feelings of injustice in the past, he could have done it again and again.

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