A Swiss court has sentenced Jerome Valcke, a former FIFA general secretary, to a suspended sentence for his role in the allocation of World Cup TV rights. In addition, Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been acquitted in the case. Deutsche Welle reports.
Valcke was found guilty of minor alteration of document forgery related to the 2026 and 2030 World Cup broadcast deals in Italy and Greece.
Valcke was found guilty of minor alteration of document forgery related to the 2026 and 2030 World Cup broadcast deals in Italy and Greece. He was given a 4 month suspended sentence and ordered to pay a fine to the world football’s governing body € 1.75 million.
Both Valcke and Al-Khelaifi were accused of a «corrupt agreement». They denied their guilt.
Al-Khelaifi was accused of bribing Walcke to influence the distribution of broadcasting rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups.
According to the prosecution, as a reward for the fact that the rights to broadcast the matches went to the companies of Al-Helaifi, Valke received a luxury villa in Sardinia for a year and a half, the price of which was € 1.75 million for such a period. It was reported that Valke received € 1.25 million in cash from the companies of Al-Helaifi and Greek businessman Dinos Deris.
The lawyers said that the deal with the villa was a private arrangement, unrelated to the contract concluded by beIN Media with FIFA.
Al-Khelaifi released a statement via his lawyer shortly after the court’s verdict and noted that the «ruthless four-year campaign» against him is finally over and his name is «completely cleared».
