Power brokers' trial casts fresh cloud over FIFA

LAUSANNE－FIFA's disgraced former secretary general Jerome Valcke and Paris Saint-Germain chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi go on trial in Switzerland on Monday in the latest chapter of soccer's seemingly endless corruption saga.

The two men have been indicted for alleged corruption in the attribution of soccer broadcasting rights－Al-Khelaifi is also the boss of beIN Media.

The hearing, which has already been delayed because of the coronavirus, is scheduled to last until Sept 25 at the Federal Criminal Court of Bellinzona. But it will open under another cloud as suspicions of collusion between the Swiss prosecution and FIFA have undermined its credibility.

Center stage is Valcke, a former right-hand man of ousted FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who appears in two separate cases of television-rights corruption－he faces up to five years in prison if found guilty.

The 59-year-old Frenchman stands accused of wanting to transfer the Middle East and North Africa rights for screening the 2026 and 2030 World Cups to Qatari giant beIN Media, in exchange for "unwarranted benefits" from Al-Khelaifi.

According to the prosecution, the case relates to a meeting on Oct 24, 2013 at the French headquarters of beIN, when Al-Khelaifi allegedly promised to buy a villa in Sardinia for five million euros ($5.9 million), granting its exclusive use to Valcke.

Al-Khelaifi, who has denied the charges, was then to hand the property over to the Frenchman two years later under certain conditions.

In return, the prosecution claims, Valcke committed to "do what was in his power" to ensure beIN would become the regional broadcaster for the two World Cups, something which happened on April 29, 2014, in an agreement that FIFA has never since contested.

Legally, however, it is no longer a question of "private corruption".The prosecution had to drop that qualification because of an "amicable agreement" reached at the end of January between FIFA and Al-Khelaifi, the contents of which have not been made public.

So Valcke must now justify having "kept for himself" advantages "which should have gone to FIFA".

An employee at the time, the obligation to return money received in the course of his duties "also applies to bribes", according to a decision in March.

Al-Khelaifi, one of the most influential men in world soccer, faces the charge of "inciting Valcke to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement", for which he could also face five years in prison.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE