Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini cleared of corruption charges by Swiss court

Sepp Blatter was head of FIFA for 17 years before being forced out in December 2015; Michel Platini ran UEFA for eight years before leaving his role on the same day as Blatter. Both men have been cleared of corruption charges by a criminal court in the city of Bellinzona, Switzerland on Friday.
Blatter was cleared of fraud by the Federal Criminal Court in the southern city of Bellinzona.
Platini, a former France national team captain and manager, was also cleared of fraud.
The two, once among the most powerful figures in world football, had denied the charges against them.
Prosecutors had accused Blatter and Platini of unlawfully arranging for FIFA to pay the Frenchman two million Swiss francs (£1.7m) in 2011. The case meant Blatter ended his reign as FIFA president in disgrace and it wrecked Platini's hopes of succeeding him after he was banned from football when the affair came to light.
Blatter had said the payment followed a "gentlemen's agreement" between the pair when he asked Platini to be his technical advisor in 1998. Platini, who also lost his job as UEFA president following the ban, said the affair was a deliberate attempt to thwart his attempt to become FIFA president in 2015.
Speaking following the verdict, Platini said: "I want to express my happiness for all my loved ones that justice has finally been done after seven years of lies and manipulation."
A statement from the Swiss Attorney General's Office in response to the verdict said: "The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has taken note of the decision of the Criminal Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court. Once the Court has issued the written reasoning of its decision, the OAG will decide about how to further proceed."