LAUSANNE: Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and FIFA’s former secretary general Jerome Valcke will be tried in September in a corruption case linked to the attribution of broadcasting rights, the Swiss judiciary said Tuesday.
The two will be tried in the southeastern Swiss city of Bellinzona along with a third, unnamed man, for criminal mismanagement, incitement to criminal mismanagement, falsifying documents and corruption, the federal criminal court said.
Al-Khelaifi, who is also the boss of Qatari television channel BeIN Sports, is suspected of giving inappropriate gifts to Valcke in order to secure broadcasting rights to prestigious events, including the 2026 and 2030 World Cups.
In exchange Valcke, formerly ex-FIFA boss Sepp Blatter’s right-hand man, gained, among other things, rent-free access to a luxury property on the Italian island of Sardinia.
After the date was set on Tuesday, Al-Khelaifi’s lawyers issued a statement insisting the case was “completely unfounded,” and insisted the charge against their client was “manifestly artificial.”
They also indicated that they had requested the recusal of prosecutors in the case and had filed a criminal complaint related to leaks, “making it uncertain whether the case will proceed at all.”
The indictment, which was published in February, accused the third man, described as “a businessman in the sports rights sector,” of bribery over a 1.25-million-euro ($1.35 million) payment to Valcke’s company Sportunited LLC.
Valcke also stands accused of exploiting his position at FIFA between 2013 and 2015 to influence the award of media rights for Italy and Greece for various World Cup and other tournaments scheduled between 2018 and 2030 “in order to favor media partners that he preferred,” in exchange for the payments from the unnamed businessman, according to the indictment.
He has also been charged with falsifying documents, after Sportsunited’s balance sheet listed those payments as loans.
While Al-Khelaifi was not indicted for bribery, prosecutors have laid out a serious case of incitement.
It alleges that Valcke was refunded a down-payment of around 500,000 euros that he had made to a third party on the purchase of a villa in Sardinia, after Al-Khelaifi purchased the villa through a company instead of Valcke.
Switzerland’s judiciary last week rejected a request from Al-Khelaifi for three federal prosecutors in the case to be recused, over claims that during a hearing on Dec. 6, 2019, he had not been given enough time to address all of the aspects of the case he deemed were necessary.
Valcke, who worked with Blatter from 2003 to 2015, has already been banned from football for 10 years for failing to cooperate with investigators over the resale of World Cup tickets and inflated expenses.
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The Egypt captain is a man on a mission in Morocco, having scored four goals in four appearances on the Pharaoh’s run to the semifinals as he targets winning AFCON for the first time.
Salah, who turns 34 in June, is running out of time to win a major international honor with his country having suffered the agony of two final defeats in the competition.
After being part of the Egypt side beaten by Cameroon in the 2017 final in Gabon, Salah skippered the team beaten on penalties by Senegal in 2022 in Yaounde.
Mane had a penalty saved in normal time on that dramatic night at the Olembe Stadium, but recovered to score the decisive kick in the shoot-out as Senegal became African champions for the first time.
Salah was due to take Egypt’s next penalty but would not get the chance to step up and was already on the verge of tears as Mane prepared to strike the decisive blow.
Less than two months later, the teams met again in a decisive World Cup qualifying play-off and once more penalties were needed — Salah missed, Mane scored and Senegal won.
They went on to reach the last 16 in Qatar while Egypt failed to qualify for the first World Cup held in the Arab world.
Both have qualified for the upcoming tournament in North America, providing what will perhaps be a last chance for the two veterans to star on the biggest stage of all.
- Feeling the pressure -
For now, however, it is all about continental supremacy as Senegal chase a third final in four editions of AFCON, and Egypt aim to take a step closer to a record-extending eighth title overall.
Mane, who also turns 34 this year, will feel less pressure having already collected a Cup of Nations winner’s medal.
“Nobody, even in Egypt, wants to win this trophy more than me,” admitted Salah after helping his team beat Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals.
“I have won almost every prize. This is the title I am waiting for.”
The pair played together under Jurgen Klopp for five years between Salah arriving from Roma in 2017 and Mane’s departure.
They formed a formidable front line along with Roberto Firmino and together won the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League in 2020 — there were also two defeats to Real in Champions League finals.
But Mane recently admitted that sometimes the pair found it difficult to get along on the pitch.
“I think Mo is first of all a very nice guy. I think though inside the pitch, sometimes he would pass to me and sometimes he wouldn’t,” Mane said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast.
“Only Bobby (Firmino) was there to share the balls. Sometimes it was like this,” he added with a laugh.
“I still remember one game when I was really, really angry because he doesn’t pass me the ball.”
This time they really are on opposing sides, as two former African footballers of the year look to lead their countries to glory — for the second time, in Mane’s case.
“The pressure for me is over. Before I won the African Cup, sometimes I played badly because of the pressure,” Mane, who has one goal at this AFCON, admitted on the same podcast.
“All that on your shoulders is not easy,” he added, and Salah is well aware of that.
PSG president Qatari Nasser Al-Khelaifi corruption trial set for September
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PSG president Qatari Nasser Al-Khelaifi corruption trial set for September
- FIFA's former secretary general Jerome Valcke will also be tried in Switzerland
- Corruption case linked to the attribution of broadcasting rights to Al-Khelaifi's BeIN Sports
Salah and Mane meet again with AFCON final place on the line
- Salah, who turns 34 in June, is running out of time to win a major international honor with his country
- Mane, who also turns 34 this year, will feel less pressure having already collected a Cup of Nations winner’s medal
RABAT: Three years after they last appeared together, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah meet again on Wednesday on opposing sides as Senegal and Egypt clash for a place in the Africa Cup of Nations final.
The last-four showdown in the Moroccan city of Tangiers will be the first time the former Liverpool teammates have shared a pitch since the Anfield club lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League final in May 2022.
Shortly after that, Mane left for Bayern Munich before moving to Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League a year later.
Salah, meanwhile, has been heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia in the near future but remains for now at Liverpool despite falling out of favor with coach Arne Slot before coming to the Cup of Nations.
The Egypt captain is a man on a mission in Morocco, having scored four goals in four appearances on the Pharaoh’s run to the semifinals as he targets winning AFCON for the first time.
Salah, who turns 34 in June, is running out of time to win a major international honor with his country having suffered the agony of two final defeats in the competition.
After being part of the Egypt side beaten by Cameroon in the 2017 final in Gabon, Salah skippered the team beaten on penalties by Senegal in 2022 in Yaounde.
Mane had a penalty saved in normal time on that dramatic night at the Olembe Stadium, but recovered to score the decisive kick in the shoot-out as Senegal became African champions for the first time.
Salah was due to take Egypt’s next penalty but would not get the chance to step up and was already on the verge of tears as Mane prepared to strike the decisive blow.
Less than two months later, the teams met again in a decisive World Cup qualifying play-off and once more penalties were needed — Salah missed, Mane scored and Senegal won.
They went on to reach the last 16 in Qatar while Egypt failed to qualify for the first World Cup held in the Arab world.
Both have qualified for the upcoming tournament in North America, providing what will perhaps be a last chance for the two veterans to star on the biggest stage of all.
- Feeling the pressure -
For now, however, it is all about continental supremacy as Senegal chase a third final in four editions of AFCON, and Egypt aim to take a step closer to a record-extending eighth title overall.
Mane, who also turns 34 this year, will feel less pressure having already collected a Cup of Nations winner’s medal.
“Nobody, even in Egypt, wants to win this trophy more than me,” admitted Salah after helping his team beat Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals.
“I have won almost every prize. This is the title I am waiting for.”
The pair played together under Jurgen Klopp for five years between Salah arriving from Roma in 2017 and Mane’s departure.
They formed a formidable front line along with Roberto Firmino and together won the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League in 2020 — there were also two defeats to Real in Champions League finals.
But Mane recently admitted that sometimes the pair found it difficult to get along on the pitch.
“I think Mo is first of all a very nice guy. I think though inside the pitch, sometimes he would pass to me and sometimes he wouldn’t,” Mane said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast.
“Only Bobby (Firmino) was there to share the balls. Sometimes it was like this,” he added with a laugh.
“I still remember one game when I was really, really angry because he doesn’t pass me the ball.”
This time they really are on opposing sides, as two former African footballers of the year look to lead their countries to glory — for the second time, in Mane’s case.
“The pressure for me is over. Before I won the African Cup, sometimes I played badly because of the pressure,” Mane, who has one goal at this AFCON, admitted on the same podcast.
“All that on your shoulders is not easy,” he added, and Salah is well aware of that.
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