beIN Sports boss talks to Swiss prosecutors
October 30, 2017
By Chris Forrester
Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the head of beIN Sports Media, spent a reported eight hours talking to Swiss prosecutors on October 26th over alleged corruption and bribery claims between Qatar-based beIN and FIFA’s officials over TV rights to the 2022 football World Cup tournament scheduled to be held in Qatar.
Al-Khelaifi faces charges that allege links with FIFA’s former secretary-general Jerome Valcke, and others, in regard to the football competitions due in 2026 and 2030. Valcke had been in post for eight years until he was dismissed in January 2016, and has received a 10-year ban from being involved in any football-related activity.
Al-Khelaifi proclaimed his innocence. “I have nothing to hide,” he told reporters in Bern where the meeting was held. “I asked to come to Switzerland to give my explanations. I am at the disposal of the attorney general if he wants to see me again. I am calm and I am leaving calmly.”