Earlier this week, the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) indicted PSG president Nasser-Al-Khelaifi for “aggravated criminal mismanagement” in a larger bribery case involving former FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke and a third party.
Essentially, the investigation centers around the awarding of broadcasting rights of the 2026 and 2030 FIFA World Cup competitions and the associated Confederations Cup tournaments, which Valcke directly influenced.
The issue came when Al-Khelaifi, who is the chairman of beIN Media Group, allowed Valcke to stay in a luxury villa in Sardinia rent-free, which would have saved Valcke around €900,000 to €1.8 million, and the former FIFA executive didn’t disclose the gift.
When the initial reporting came out, it was made known that FIFA had reached an “amicable agreement” with Al-Khelaifi in late January and that they had no intention of pursuing a criminal complaint in relation to the bribery allegations stemming from the World Cup broadcasting rights.
Something noteworthy:
FIFA told Swiss attorney general last month it reached “amicable agreement” with Al-Khelaifi so withdrew a criminal complaint against him and partially against Valcke over World Cup TV rights bribery allegations pic.twitter.com/pz0J3ylfbH
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) February 20, 2020
At the time, it wasn’t really known what “amicable agreement” meant but we all had our assumptions about what went down and on Friday, those thoughts were confirmed.
According to The Times, Al-Khelaifi “agreed to pay FIFA a substantial sum of money as part of a settlement that led to the world governing body dropping a bribery complaint.” The amount is said to be more than one million Swiss francs, or €950,000.
If only Manchester City knew how the game is played…
Want more PSG? Visit the PSG Talk Podcast Network page and subscribe to PSG Talking, The 1970, and 24th & Parc.
