Swiss continues today Nasser Al-Khalifi trial in FIFA Gate scandal
By Marwa Mahmoud
Switzerland continues today, trial of Qatari Nasser Al-Khulaifi, president of the French club Paris Saint-Germain and the “BN” media group, on charges of corruption.
The court will hear Jerome Valcke, former Secretary General of International Federation of Football Association “FIFA”.
Al-Arabiya’s delegate, citing court sources, stated that “BN Sports” obtained the broadcasting rights by bribing the Frenchman Valcke, and that “FIFA” documents accused it of breaching trust.
Al-Khalifi is expected to respond today to the corruption charges against him, provided that the Swiss court will hear witnesses related to this Qatari corruption scandal.
Nasser Al-Khulaifi and Jerome Valcke are represented before the Swiss judiciary in a corruption case related to the granting of television broadcasting rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cup finals.
Al-Khulaifi, 46, is being tried in this complex case, on charges of inciting unfair mismanagement and faces a five-year prison sentence.
The Swiss public prosecutor accused Al-Khulaifi of granting former FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke the right to use a luxury villa in Sardinia in exchange for his support in obtaining TV broadcasting rights for the World Cup finals (2026 and 2030) in the Middle East and North Africa regions.
The two men were initially followed up on charges of “private corruption,” but this charge was dropped from the lawsuit after an agreement at the end of January between FIFA and the Qatari official, the provisions of which were not disclosed.
Therefore, they were charged with another charge, which is unfair management, as the Swiss judiciary accuses Valcke of having reserved for him privileges that should have gone to FIFA, and Al-Khalifi of inciting him to do so.
