Smiling as he entered court, former Fifa president Sepp Blatter sat alone on a long bench Wednesday while one of his lawyers addressed the three judges on the opening day of his criminal trial.
Once the most powerful man in world football, Blatter is facing charges of defrauding Fifa in a Swiss criminal court. He is on trial along with former France great Michel Platini, his former protégé who had been considered Blatter’s successor as president of the governing body of soccer.
