Nasser cleared, suspended sentence for Valcke

BELLINZONA (Switzerland) • Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi was yesterday acquitted by a Swiss court of corruption over the allocation of World Cup TV rights, while former Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke was handed a suspended sentence for a secondary charge.

The two men were accused of a "corrupt agreement" after Valcke allegedly sought the help of Al-Khelaifi, the chairman of beIN Sports, to buy a luxury villa in Italy.

It came at a time when the Qatari-owned broadcaster was negotiating the extension of its media rights in North Africa and the Middle East for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups.

Swiss prosecutors said Al-Khelaifi acquired the house for €5 million (S$7.9 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.

They added that 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.

However, the duo denied there was a "corrupt agreement", claiming the deal was a "private" arrangement, unrelated to the contract concluded by beIN with Fifa in April 2014 and the judge agreed with their defence.

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 last month.

But Al-Khelaifi, who is a minister in Qatar's government and a member of the Uefa executive committee, was yesterday cleared of aggravated criminal mismanagement.

Frenchman Valcke was given a 120-day suspended sentence despite being found guilty of a separate charge of forging documents related to the attribution of Italian and Greek World Cup TV rights. He was ordered to pay Fifa €1.75 million in restitution.

A third defendant, Greek businessman Dinos Deris, was also cleared of charges of active corruption with Valcke and inciting him.

In a statement, Al-Khelaifi said: "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.

"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."

This was the first judgment 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 South American football heads have already been jailed in the United States as part of the ongoing "Fifa-gate" scandal.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE