Al-Khelaifi acquitted, Valcke given suspended sentence in TV rights trialParis Saint-Germain chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi was cleared of corruption by the Swiss Federal Criminal CourtBELLINZONA (SWITZERLAND) - Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi was on Friday acquitted by a Swiss court of corruption over the allocation of World Cup TV rights, while former FIFA number two Jerome Valcke was handed a suspended 120-day sentence for a secondary charge. Al-Khelaifi, the chairman of beIN Media, was cleared of inciting aggravated criminal mismanagement, with Valcke found guilty of a separate charge of forging documents related to the attribution of Italian and Greek World Cup TV rights. Prosecutors had called for a jail term of three years for Valcke and a 28-month sentence for Al-Khelaifi following 10 days of hearings at the Swiss Federal Criminal Court of Bellinzona in September. Swiss prosecutors dropped a charge of corruption before the case reached trial because of an out-of-court settlement in January between Al-Khelaifi and FIFA, which then withdrew its complaint against him. He was cleared of the most serious charges of accepting bribes and aggravated criminal mismanagement but was handed a suspended prison sentence for forgery.

Source: Bangkok Post October 30, 2020 14:37 UTC