Overview
- Former UEFA president Michel Platini filed a criminal complaint and a separate civil suit in Paris against FIFA and president Gianni Infantino, naming former FIFA officials Marco Villiger and Domenico Scala as defendants.
- The criminal complaint accuses Infantino and the others of malicious prosecution, influence peddling and a criminal conspiracy to falsely accuse Platini to stop his run for FIFA president.
- Platini’s civil action seeks full financial compensation from FIFA for reputational and material damages he says resulted from the 2015 episode tied to a 2 million Swiss francs payment authorised in 2011.
- The new filings, announced on Monday, ask French investigators to examine possible coordination between FIFA figures and Swiss prosecutors including former attorney general Michael Lauber.
- The move shifts the dispute to a French legal venue days before the 2026 World Cup and could create fresh reputational and legal pressure for FIFA leadership while investigations proceed.