Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he was innocent when he appeared in a Swiss court on Monday alongside France soccer great Michel Platini, 2-1/2 years after they were both cleared of fraud.

One week before his 89th birthday, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter returns to court Monday for a retrial in a case of alleged financial wrongdoing that has run for nearly 10 years. Blatter and French soccer great Michel Platini were acquitted in July 2022 by three federal judges on charges including fraud,

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and France soccer great Michel Platini are due to appear in court in Switzerland on Monday accused of fraud – two-and-a-half years after they were cleared.

Ex-Fifa head Sepp Blatter and French football great Michel Platini were cleared in 2022, but prosecutors appealed.

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter distanced himself from corruption in soccer when he went on trial Monday for the second time alongside his one-time protege Michel Platini. Blatter and Platini returned to a federal court room nearly three years after they were acquitted at a first trial on charges of fraud,

The pair returned to a Swiss courtroom nearly three years after they were acquitted at a first trial in July 2022.

The two men were acquitted almost three years ago, but the Swiss Attorney General's Office and FIFA appealed against the decision. View on euronews

The pair were acquitted by a lower court in 2022 in a trial over payments to Platini, authorised by Blatter, of over $2 million.

"The Federal Criminal Court in 2022 said the contract between Platini and me was correct, and I expect the new court will confirm this first decision," Blatter, 88, told Reuters l

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter distanced himself from corruption in soccer when he went on trial Monday for the second time alongside his one-time protege Michel Platini.