Football: PSG under investigation over alleged undeclared labour
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Paris Saint-Germain are under probe over alleged undeclared labour.
PHOTO: REUTERS
PARIS – Paris Saint-Germain are under investigation by French prosecutors over alleged undeclared labour, the Paris prosecutors’ office said on Tuesday.
“Following a complaint received on Dec 13, 2022, an investigation was opened on Jan 16, 2023 on the grounds of undeclared work,” the office told Reuters.
The complaint was launched by Tunisian national Hicham Bouajila, who said he worked for the club’s president Nasser Al-Khelaifi as an adviser, according to his lawyer Bertrand Repolt.
Bouajila alleges he was paid only sporadically through a Doha-based tennis academy.
According to French sports newspaper L’Equipe, the contract in question, signed in July 2015, was for a supposed position as a “tennis teacher” and was to be for an indefinite period.
But a spokesman for PSG’s owners Qatar Sports Investments said in a statement that Bouajila had never been employed by the club.
“He was never employed by PSG. We won’t make any further comment about completely spurious individuals who trade on misinformation and media manipulation,” the statement added.
Separately, PSG have commissioned an American company to study the possibility of building a new stadium.
This was after the city’s authorities and Parc des Princes owners said they were against selling the ground, a source told AFP on Tuesday.
PSG have played there for almost 50 years but Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said in January the stadium “is not for sale” and “will not be sold” to the club.
PSG have made acquisition of the ground in the city’s leafy western suburbs a condition for carrying out modernisation and expansion works to the tune of €500 million (S$711.1 million).
In November, Al-Khelaifi told Spanish sports newspaper Marca that PSG were “no longer welcome” at the Parc des Princes,
Built in 1897 then remodelled in 1972, the former velodrome, with its 48,000 capacity, has been home to the club since 1974.
The current 30-year lease began in 2014.
Renovating a nearby horse-racing track is reportedly one option if PSG were to build their own ground.
Legends Hospitality will carry out research alongside Canadian real estate advisers Colliers.
Legends Hospitality runs Los Angeles’ Sofi Stadium, Dallas’ AT&T Stadium and has worked with English Premier League clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. REUTERS, AFP
