Qatari football executive Nasser al-Khelaifi to undergo trial in September over involvement in World Cup TV rights corruption scanda

Bellinzona: Qatari football and television executive Nasser al-Khelaifi will go on trial in Switzerland in September, implicated in providing a holiday villa to a FIFA official linked to a World Cup broadcasting deal.

Switzerland’s federal criminal court on Tuesday said the case will begin on 14 September.

The court listed eight days in September to hear the case against Al-Khelaifi, former top FIFA official Jerome Valcke and another broadcasting executive who was not identified.

Al-Khelaifi, the president of Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain who also runs Doha-based broadcaster beIN Sports Group, was charged in February with inciting Valcke to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement.

The three-year investigation centers on Valcke getting to use a luxury villa on the Italian island of Sardinia rent free in 2014 and 2015. At the time, he had influence over FIFA broadcast deals, including an extension of beIN’s Middle East rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups.

During the investigation, Al-Khelaifi was elected as a member of the executive committee of European football body UEFA. He has continued to attend meetings while under suspicion.

Valcke was charged with bribery in a separate World Cup rights negotiation with the third person charged.