Football: PSG's Al-Khelaifi acquitted, Valcke given suspended sentence in TV rights trial

Nasser Al-Khelaifi was cleared of aggravated criminal mismanagement. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

BELLINZONA, SWITZERLAND (AFP) - Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi was on Friday (Oct 30) acquitted by a Swiss court of corruption over the allocation of World Cup TV rights, while former Fifa number two Jerome Valcke was handed a suspended sentence for a secondary charge.

Al-Khelaifi, the chairman of beIN Media, was cleared of aggravated criminal mismanagement, with Valcke found guilty of a separate charge of forging documents related to the attribution of Italian and Greek World Cup TV rights.

Prosecutors had called for a jail term of three years for Valcke and a 28-month sentence for Al-Khelaifi following 10 days of hearings at the Swiss Federal Criminal Court of Bellinzona in September.

They also requested 30 months for Greek businessman Dinos Deris - with partial suspension in all three cases. Deris was found not guilty on Friday on a charge of "private corruption".

It was the first judgement handed down in Switzerland, the seat of most international sports organisations, in the 20 or so proceedings opened in the last five years involving Fifa. Two former Latin American football leaders have been jailed in the United States.

"After a relentless four-year campaign against me that ignored the basic facts and the law at every turn,I have finally, fully and completely cleared my name. Today's verdict is a total vindication," Al-Khelaifi said in a statement.

"It restores my faith in the rule of law and in due process, after four years of baseless allegations, fictitious charges and constant smears of my reputation - all of which have been proven to be completely and wholly unsubstantiated."

Valcke, the former right-hand man of disgraced Fifa president Sepp Blatter, and Al-Khelaifi were accused of a "corrupt agreement" over Qatari-owned broadcaster beIN's extension of its media rights in North Africa and the Middle East for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups.

The public prosecutor's office said Valcke sought the Qatari's help in the summer of 2003 to buy a luxury villa in Sardinia, at a time when beIN was negotiating the extension.

The prosecutor said Al-Khelaifi acquired the house for €5 million ($7.96 million), via a company that was transferred almost immediately to the brother of one of his close collaborators, before it was made available to Valcke.

The two men denied wrongdoing and said the deal was a "private" arrangement, unrelated to the contract concluded by beIN with Fifa in April 2014.

The prosecution said Valcke committed to "do what was in his power" to ensure beIN would win the contract and should have declared the Villa Bianca deal to his employers. They said he had been pressured by Al-Khelaifi to damage Fifa's interests illegally.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.