BeIN Sports president Nasser Al-Khelaifi faces justice in Switzerland for corruption cases
The President of Paris Saint-Germain and Bien Sports, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and the former Secretary General of FIFA, Jérôme Valcke, are facing justice in Switzerland on Monday, accused of corruption in the distribution of television rights for the World Cup. The two men, who each face five years in prison if convicted, are expected to face trial. The trial has been opened under another jurisdiction, as the defence claims that the suspicions of collusion between the Swiss prosecution and FIFA undermine its credibility.
On Monday, the defence claimed that the trial was "clouded" by the revelation of informal meetings between former Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber and current FIFA President Gianni Infantino, but Valcke and Al-Khelaifi's appeals have been rejected. Lauber resigned from his post in July and is being investigated for "obstructing criminal proceedings". Cristina Castellote, one of the prosecutors, said the complaints "do not influence the validity" of the evidence in the trial being held in the Swiss city of Bellinzona. Al-Khelaifi, who is also president of Qatar's beIN Media, is accused of inciting Valcke to commit "aggravated criminal mismanagement.
The trial, which has already been postponed owing to the coronavirus pandemic, is scheduled to last until 25 September. If it goes ahead, it will be the first sentence handed down in Switzerland, home to most of the international sports organisations, of the twenty or so proceedings opened for corruption in the last five years around FIFA. Valcke, who until 2015 was the right-hand man of the now FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, faces most of the charges related to two separate cases of TV rights corruption. The 59-year-old Frenchman is accused of wanting to transfer the rights to the Middle East and North Africa for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups to beIN Media, in exchange for bribes from Al-Khelaifi.
According to the prosecution, the case relates to a meeting held on 24 October 2013 at the French headquarters of beIN, in which Al-Khelaifi allegedly promised to buy a villa in Sardinia for five million euros (5.9 million dollars), granting its exclusive use to Valcke. Al-Khelaifi, who has denied the charges, was then to hand over the property to the Frenchman two years later under certain conditions. In exchange, according to the prosecutor's office, Valcke undertook to "do his utmost" to make beIN the regional broadcaster of the two World Cups, which it did on 29 April 2014, in an agreement that FIFA has never contested since.
Al-Khelaifi, who as president of the PSG, a finalist in this year's Champions League, is one of the most influential men in world football, faces the accusation of "inciting Valcke to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement". "Most of this case does not concern our client", Khelaifi's lawyers told the AFP agency. Valcke is also accused of using his position at FIFA between 2013 and 2015 to influence the award of media rights to Italy and Greece for several World Cups and other tournaments scheduled between 2018 and 2030 "in order to favour the media partners he preferred" in exchange for payments from Greek businessman Dinos Deris, who has also been accused.
