After more than 8 years of proceedings, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, president of PSG and beIN Media, was definitively cleared by the Swiss Supreme Court in the case of television rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region according to Le Figaro. Continued since 2017 for “instigation of aggravated unfair management”the Qatari leader sees his acquittal confirmed after having already been cleared at first instance on October 30, 2020, then on appeal on June 24, 2022. The case also involved the former secretary general of FIFA, Jérôme Valcke, and the Greek businessman Konstantinos Kenteris, known as Dinos Deris, concerning the allocation of TV rights in Italy and Greece for the same editions of the World Cup. If Al-Khelaïfi emerges fully rehabilitated, the Supreme Court however confirms the convictions of Valcke, sentenced on appeal to 11 months in prison, and of Deris for private corruption, while the acquittal of the latter at first instance is maintained. The official press release specifies that “The convictions of the former FIFA Secretary General and another person for passive and respectively active private corruption are in accordance with federal law. The same applies to the conviction of the former secretary general for forgery of securities, as well as the acquittal of the three accused in connection with the offense of aggravated unfair management.. The court of appeal must now rule on the financial consequences of these decisions.
For his Swiss lawyers, Marc Bonnant, Grégoire Mangeat and Fanny Margairaz, this verdict constitutes “a full rehabilitation” for Nasser Al-Khelaïfi: “the judgment of the Federal Court definitively confirms the total and unreserved acquittal of our client. For the third and final time, no offense was found. » They welcome the end of a long and, according to them, unjustified procedure, which seriously damaged the reputation of their client: “From the beginning, we have denounced a trophy hunt carried out by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office. Today the hunting trip has ended. Our client’s acquittal, now confirmed by the Federal Court, is total, clear, unequivocal, and final. We are delighted with this success for our client. But above all, we are happy that he can now continue his unfailing commitment to sport and sporting life, in the calm, serenity and dignified conditions that he deserves.
