Sepp Blatter spoke out after being acquitted of corruption charges. There is a time and a place.
A Swiss court acquitted Sepp Blatter andMichel Platini of corruption charges.
The Federal Criminal Court in the southern city of Bellinzona cleared the former president of fraud. The former France national team captain and manager was found not guilty of fraud.
The Frenchman was accused of having arranged for the payment of two million Swiss Francs to be made to him. The court was asked to impose suspended 20-month prison sentences on the two men and force them to repay the money.
When the affair came to light, it wrecked the hopes of the man who was going to be the next president of the organization. A gentlemen's agreement between the two men led to the payment of two million Swiss Francs.
The most money the organisation could afford at the time was 300,000 Swiss Francs per annum, according to the court testimony. The rest of the salary was to be paid at a later time.
After seven years of lies and manipulation, justice has finally been done for my loved ones.
He said that the truth has come to light. My fight is a fight for justice. It was my first game.
The two men met in 2010 and had a discussion about the upcoming elections for the FIFA presidency. He was campaigning for re-election when he approved the payment. European members of the soccer association were seen as having sway over the vote.
The oral agreement between the two men was described as an "invention" by prosecutors. The payment emerged after a huge investigation launched by the U.S. Department of Justice into bribes, fraud and money-laundering at football's world governing body.
The two officials were banned from soccer for eight years over the payment.
The affair was a deliberate attempt to prevent the Frenchman from becoming the next president of the world's governing body of soccer, he claimed.
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