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Former UEFA president Michel Platini has opened a new legal front against current FIFA president Gianni Infantino, filing a defamation and influence peddling lawsuit in connection with the case that ended his ambitions to lead world football.
The news was announced through a statement released today, where Platini announced that he has filed a criminal complaint against Infantino, as well as against two former FIFA officials, Marco Villiger and Domenico Scala.
According to the former French football legend, the three officials acted in a coordinated manner to exclude him from the race for the FIFA presidency in 2015, through what he describes as a series of baseless accusations.
"I will not let the people who hurt me go free ," Platini declared, bringing back to mind one of the biggest scandals in modern football history.
Platini had previously
filed two similar appeals, in 2018 and 2021, but they did not bring the results he expected. One was deemed time-barred, while the other was dismissed by the Swiss courts in October last year.
However, the former UEFA number one has not withdrawn. In addition to the new criminal lawsuit, he has also announced a civil lawsuit against FIFA, with the aim of seeking compensation for the financial and moral damages he claims to have suffered.
According to him, the maneuvers undertaken by FIFA leaders cost him the opportunity to be elected president of the largest football organization in the world.
How did the scandal that changed FIFA's history begin?
In 2015, Michel Platini's name was implicated in an investigation related to a payment of 2 million Swiss francs made by FIFA in his favor four years earlier.
The publication of this information triggered a wave of disciplinary and criminal proceedings, precisely at the moment when Platini was considered the favorite candidate to succeed Sepp Blatter at the head of FIFA.
The scandal ended his candidacy and changed the course of elections in the organization.
How did Infantino benefit?
After Platini's departure from the race, the path to the FIFA presidency opened for Gianni Infantino, who at the time served as UEFA general secretary and was considered one of the Frenchman's closest associates.
Infantino won the election in 2016 and was then re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023. He is expected to seek another term in the upcoming FIFA elections.
Meanwhile, Platini was finally declared innocent by Swiss justice in 2025, a decision that gave him the opportunity to resume the legal offensive against those he considers responsible for the collapse of his career in world football administration.
The new lawsuit is expected to reopen one of the most intense clashes in FIFA history, just days before the start of the World Cup to be held in North America.
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