Nasser Al Khelaifi, one of the world's most influential football officials, has been acquitted once again of incitement to commit a crime.
The Swiss Federal Criminal Court also ruled in the second instance that the Qatari did not commit a criminal offense when he let the then General Secretary of the International Football Association FIFA, Jerome Valcke, live in a luxury villa in Sardinia without him having to pay for it.
Christopher Becker
sports editor.
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The villa was owned by a Qatari company;
The public prosecutor's office, which had appealed, had considered a connection with the award of television rights to the 2026 and 2030 World Cups to be proven.
Al Khelaifi is chairman of the board of Paris St Germain, CEO of the broadcasting group BeIN, head of the European Club Association ECA, member of the executive of the European Football Union and confidant of the Emir of Qatar.
Co-defendant Valcke was sentenced to eleven months in prison on other corruption charges.
The court in Bellinzona suspended the sentence on probation.
It saw the accusation of forgery and acceptance of benefits as proven and increased the sentence significantly compared to the three months of probation pronounced by the lower court.
The Greek marketing manager Dinos D., who was acquitted in the first instance, was sentenced to ten months' probation for granting advantages.