Qatari businessman Nasser
al-Khelaifi, who is the president of the French sports club, Paris Saint-Germain, and the chairman of beIN Sports network, and Jérôme
Valcke, the former secretary-general of FIFA, face corruption charges in
relation to the broadcast rights of the World Cup 2026 and 2030 editions.
The two men can be imprisoned to up to five years, if
proven guilty.
Al-Khelaifi's trial started in Switzerland on September 14,
in a case that has rocked the international football community. He is accused
of incitement for corrupt management.
He is accused of encouraging Valcke to commit violations.
This makes him prone to jailing up to five years.
Valcke will attend the court hearing on the case. He faces
charges of abusing his powers between 2013 and 2015 and granting the broadcast
rights of a number of World Cup editions to the TV networks of his preference
in return for money.
The first verdict in the cases is expected to be issued in
Switzerland.
Appeals turned down
The Federal Criminal Court in Switzerland turned down
appeals submitted by al-Khelaifi's defense team against the charges.
The court also said it would move ahead with hearing in the
case.
This is the third time the court rejects appeals by
al-Khelaifi's defense team. The team called for three members of the Federation
Prosecution to recuse themselves from continuing in the hearing of the case.
Al-Khelaifi said the prosecutors did not give him enough
time to debate all the charges leveled against him.
