Former UEFA president Michel Platini has dragged FIFA and its current president, Gianni Infantino, before a French court over corruption allegations dating back to 2015, claiming the case derailed his bid to lead world football’s governing body, reports BBC Sport on Tuesday,9 June, 2026.
The 70-year-old former France captain has filed a criminala civil and criminal legal complaints in at the court accusing Infantino, along with former FIFA legal director Marco Villiger and former audit committee chair Domenico Scala, of malicious prosecution.
According to BBC, Platini is seeking financial compensation from FIFA, alleging that efforts were made to block his path to the FIFA presidency ahead of the 2016 election.
Platini, who served as UEFA president from 2008 to 2015, was widely regarded as the favourite to succeed Sepp Blatter as FIFA president.
However, his campaign collapsed after both men became embroiled in allegations over a 2 million Swiss francs (£1.6 million) payment made to Platini in 2011.
The payment, reportedly authorised by Blatter, later became central to a corruption investigation that rocked world football.
The scandal contributed to Blatter’s resignation and effectively ended Platini’s presidential ambitions. Platini was subsequently banned from football for eight years by FIFA’s ethics committee, a sanction later reduced to four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Both Platini and Blatter later faced criminal proceedings in Switzerland but were ultimately cleared of corruption by a Swiss federal criminal appeals court in March 2025.
Infantino, who previously served as UEFA general secretary under Platini, went on to succeed Blatter as FIFA president.
The sport medium, says it has contacted FIFA for comment.
