Independent
Paris Saint-Germain president has been acquitted of aggravated criminal mismanagement while former Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke received a 120-day suspended prison sentence for forging documents.
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al Khelaifi has been acquitted of aggravated criminal mismanagement as part of a Swiss corruption trial involving former Fifa General Secretary Jerome Valcke, who has been found guilty of forging documents relating to Italian and Greek World Cup television rights.
The 10-day trial ended on Friday with Valcke being handed a 120-day suspended prison sentence, while an additional charge of corruption against Al-Khelaifi was dropped by Fifa before the trial after the PSG president agreed to pay a substantial settlement.
Valcke was also ordered to repay Fifa €1.75m (£1.58m) plus interest, but he was cleared os the most serious charges.
Al-Khelaifi, who is also chairman of Qatar-based media giants Bein Sport, issued a statement to say the verdict “fully and completely clears my name” in what appeared to be a thinly-veiled swipe at Fifa for bringing about the charges in the first place.
In a statement released after the verdict was delivered, Al-Khelaifi said: “After a relentless four-year campaign against me that ignored the basic facts and the law at every turn - I have finally, fully and completely cleared my name. Today’s verdict is a total vindication. It restores my faith in the rule of law and in due process, after four years of baseless allegations, fictitious charges and constant smears of my reputation - all of which have been proven to be completely and wholly unsubstantiated.
“I can now devote all my energy to my various roles, which are all focused on building a positive future for world sport - at a time when the industry needs strong leadership the most.