Ex-football chiefs deny wrongdoing on first day of fraud retrial

After leaving court at the end of their first day of their fraud retrial, former football chiefs Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Blatter, the former president of FIFA, said, " I'm only defending my case, and naturally Michel's as well. We did nothing wrong. Nothing. Nothing. It will be difficult to prove that we did anything wrong."

Platini, the former president of UEFA, described the proceedings complex, but maintains his innocence.

"It's complicated—I don’t understand anything. Fortunately, there was an interpreter who translated everything for me. I didn’t completely follow everything; it’s difficult. Now the appeal raises the same questions as in the first instance, where we were completely cleared. So, there you have it! We're just repeating things. It's a salary arrears issue, nothing more. There’s no corruption, no scheming, nothing at all. Some people think otherwise and are trying to prove it. And we are trying to prove the opposite,'' the 69 year old said.

It comes after both were acquitted at a first trial in 2022 on charges of fraud, forgery and misappropriation of FIFA money. Swiss prosecutors appealed against that decision.