The trial of former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and France great Michel Platini over alleged corrupt payments was delayed on Wednesday when Blatter said he was too ill to testify.
Swiss prosecutors accuse the pair of unlawfully arranging a payment of two million Swiss francs ($2.08m) in 2011. Blatter and Platini both deny the charges.
But Blatter, looking frail during the hearing at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, said he was unable to address the court due to chest pains.
"The pain will come back and I am having difficulty breathing," the 85-year-old told the court in a whisper. The judges allowed him to make his testimony on Thursday.
Earlier, lawyers for Blatter and Platini failed to shift the trial to a local court or dismiss Fifa's civil claim against Blatter and Platter to reclaim the two million francs.
"This case is being heard in the wrong stadium," Platini’s lawyer Dominic Nellen told the court, saying federal prosecutions should be reserved for large, international cases.
The judges dismissed the argument, and also allowed Fifa to remain involved.
"It is obvious that Fifa has been damaged," said lawyer Catherine Hohl-Chirazi. "Two million francs was stolen."
Three judges will hear the trial, which runs until June 22. A verdict is due on July 8. If convicted, Platini and Blatter face up to five years in jail.
Both have denied wrongdoing and say they had a verbal agreement over the payment, which related to consultancy work by Platini between 1998 and 2002.
Blatter, once the most powerful figure in global football, arrived at the court walking with a stoop and holding the arm of his daughter Corinne.
Before the hearing, he said was positive and in a good mood.
"I know I have not done anything against the law. My life was football, for 45 years with Fifa," he told journalists outside the court.
Platini, a former Uefa President, also said he was confident, and joked he would have to improve his German so he could follow the proceedings.
"We will prove in court that I acted with the utmost honesty, that the payment of the remaining salary was due to me by Fifa and is perfectly legal," he said in statement before the hearing.
The Swiss Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has accused Blatter and Platini of "fraud, in the alternative of misappropriation, in the further alternative of criminal mismanagement as well as of forgery of a document.
Platini, who as a player captained France to victory in the 1984 European Championship, was also charged as an accomplice.
Blatter and Platini, 66, were both banned in 2016 from football for six years over the payment, made with Blatter's approval for work done a decade earlier.
INDIA SQUAD
Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
Your Guide to the Home
- Level 1 has a valet service if you choose not to park in the basement level. This level houses all the kitchenware, including covetable brand French Bull, along with a wide array of outdoor furnishings, lamps and lighting solutions, textiles like curtains, towels, cushions and bedding, and plenty of other home accessories.
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A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
ENGLAND TEAM
England (15-1)
George Furbank; Jonny May, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell (capt), Elliot Daly; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Courtney Lawes; Charlie Ewels, Maro Itoje; Kyle Sinckler, Jamie George, Joe Marler
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, George Kruis, Lewis Ludlam, Willi Heinz, Ollie Devoto, Jonathan Joseph
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
UAE squad
Ali Kashief, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdelrahman, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Mohmmed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammad Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Eisa, Mohammed Shakir, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Adel Al Hosani, Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah), Waleed Abbas, Ismail Al Hammadi, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai) Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Mahrami (Baniyas)
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
6.30pm Meydan Classic Trial US$100,000 (Turf) 1,400m
Winner Bella Fever, Dane O’Neill (jockey), Mike de Kock (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Woven, Harry Bentley, David Simcock.
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner Fore Left, William Buick, Doug O’Neill.
8.15pm Dubai Sprint Listed Handicap $175,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Rusumaat, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group Two $450,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Benbatl, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner Art Du Val, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
10pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Beyond Reason, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
Company%20Profile
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