Foot: prison required against the ex-number 2 of FIFA and the boss of beIN
The French Jérôme Valcke (left) and the Qatari Nasser al-Khelaïfi, during their trial.
REUTERS / Arnd Wiegmann - Editing / RFI
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The public prosecutor of the Swiss Confederation requested 3 years in prison against the Frenchman Jérôme Valcke, the former Secretary General of the International Football Federation (FIFA) stripped of his functions, and 28 months against the Qatari Nasser al- Khelaïfi, the boss of the audiovisual group beIN Media.
The two men are judged in particular in the context of the allocation of TV rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups.
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This is the first prison sentence required on European soil following the multiple scandals that have plagued world football since 2015 and the start of “FIFAgate”.
This September 22, 2020, the federal prosecutor of the Public Ministry of the Swiss Confederation (MPC) demanded three years in prison against Jérôme Valcke, the former Secretary General of the International Football Federation (FIFA) stripped of his functions, and 28 months against Nasser al-Khelaïfi, the boss of the audiovisual group of beIN Media.
Swiss justice is looking into the allocation of TV rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups to beIN Media for the North Africa and Middle East zones.
She suspects Jérôme Valcke of having sought the help of Nasser Al-Khelaïfi in the summer of 2003 to buy a luxurious villa in Sardinia, at the time when beIN was negotiating the extension of its TV rights to the World Football Championships.
The one who is also the boss of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) would then have acquired the said residence for 5 million euros, via a company transferred almost immediately to the brother of one of his close associates, before making it available to Jérôme Valcke.
The two men in turn referred to a "private" arrangement, unrelated to the contract concluded by beIN with FIFA in April 2014, on terms presented by the defense as "very advantageous" for the football body.
With AFP,
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