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Zurich — A Switzerland The Court of Appeals said on Friday that former FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valle was found guilty of forging a document and receiving a bribe in a case involving media rights in the World Cup.
A 61-year-old boy, who was the secretary-general of a world football association from 2007 to 2015, was sentenced to 11 months in prison and fined CHF 20,000 ($ 20,900). it was done. Both penalties have been suspended.
Valcke was granted by a lower court in 2020 for accepting bribes and exacerbating criminal mismanagement, but Swiss prosecutors have appealed the ruling.
Valcke's interests acquitted by the Court of Appeals for another charge of dishonest management deterioration include the use of Sardinian villas without rent. I did.
This property was owned by French football club Paris Saint-Germain and Nasser Al-Khelaifi, chairman of the Qatar-based media group beIN Sports.
Valcke also paid € 1.25 million ($ 1.32 million) from a third defendant convicted of bribes by the Court of Appeals in connection with the granting of media rights to FIFA World and Confederations. Was accused of receiving. cup.
The appeals of Valke and Al Kelaifi, who denied allegations of bribery, were held in March.
The Court of Appeals, which reached a verdict on Thursday, acquitted Alkeraifi for inciting Valke to take criminal mismanagement.
Alkeraifi, 48, denied having made a "corrupted arrangement" with Valke in the appeals court. "It's completely wrong. It's a false accusation," he testified.
Valke, who had been banned from all football-related activities until mid-2032 by the FIFA Institutional Review Board, had no income and his professional and financial situation has changed since 2015. He told the Court of Appeals that it had deteriorated.
"My health is all I have left," he said.
Valke said he had a hard time funding the purchase of a villa and a new boat, so in 2013 he asked Alkeraifi to help him as a friend.
Valcke also added a signed contract between beIN Sports and FIFA, stating that his request had nothing to do with simultaneous negotiations on World Cup media rights. World soccer organization.
($ 1 = 0.9477 euros) ($ 1 = 0.9563 Swiss francs) (reported by Michael Shields, edited by John Stonestreet)
