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.

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 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